


Four Lights

by ZoneRobotnik



Series: Four Lights [2]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Destiny is a Bitch, F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Moon Powers Varian (Disney), Normal POV this time, Rapunzel really thought it was over, it's time for another adventure
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:40:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25251781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZoneRobotnik/pseuds/ZoneRobotnik
Summary: One year after Rapunzel finished her adventures and gave up her powers, Destiny calls her and Varian on another quest.
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel, Hamuel & Eugene, Maximus & Pascal & Rapunzel (Disney), Pascal & Rapunzel (Disney), Queen Arianna of Corona/King Frederic of Corona (Disney), Ruddiger & Varian (Disney)
Series: Four Lights [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1829395
Comments: 44
Kudos: 64





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (c) Disney

_Long ago, a cosmic event occurred that released four magical artifacts to the world below. The Sundrop Flower, The Moonstone Opal, the Galaxy Crystal, and the Earth Stone. Of the four, only two were ever fully discovered, and only the sages speak of the others.  
  
_ _The Sundrop has the power of the Sun and Fire  
The Moonstone has the power of the Moon and Water  
The Earth Stone controls Flora and Fauna  
And the Galaxy Crystal harnesses the powers of the Sun, Moon and Earth as one.  
  
_Only the sages speak of the Earth Stone and Galaxy Crystal…  
  
Until now. _  
  
  
_\--  
  
It had been a year since Zhan Tiri’s defeat. Varian continued to steadily build up his forces, with Brock Thunderstrike and The Baron introducing him to other criminals, including The Baron’s lovely and calculating daughter with her own connections that was maybe more dangerous than her father and felt indebted to him for saving The Baron’s life.  
  
Varian purchased messenger birds to keep in contact with all his connections and sent Cassandra, Owl, and Fidella to go and search for books or contact people for information on the Four Lights legend, which, apparently, had somehow not reached Corona but was pretty big in the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. People had been looking for them for years and not one had located the Galaxy Crystal or the Earth Stone.  
  
“According to Stalyan,” he said as he worked on a new serum under Rapunzel’s request, “the biggest theory is that the Galaxy Crystal will make its location known when the Chosen of the Sun, Moon and Earth meet and use their powers as one.”  
  
“Okay, so we just need to look for the Earth Stone and its Chosen.” Ruddiger said as he welded something Eugene had commissioned. “That makes things slightly easier.”  
  
“Slightly.” Varian laughed a bit.  
  
“Hey, what are you working on, anyway?” Ruddiger asked.  
  
“Uh, nothing. It’s a surprise for everyone but Princess Rapunzel and myself.” Varian said, hiding his notes.  
  
Ruddiger raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “Okay.”  
  
\--  
  
With Jenna’s involvement in the battle for Corona, King Fredric had agreed to return some of the Saporian land and offered to help them with rebuilding the Kingdom, to show their gratitude and to start anew in their relationship with the Kingdom.  
  
Prince Andrew and Princess Juniper of Saporia had, to their knowledge, never been to Corona and so Princess Rapunzel invited them to come to a banquet she was hosting for neighboring Princes and Princesses in an effort to get to know the other Kingdoms.  
  
Varian wasn’t going to lie, seeing Andrew and Juniper, his old tormentors, walking together into the banquet hall dressed in black, red and gold royal fashion was…intimidating. Besides that, he couldn’t look at Andrew without thinking of that year they spent in a cell with only each other to turn to when the guards got rough and the long nights behind bars got depressing. He was… _kind_ , sometimes. He was capable of such cruelty, but he was also capable of kindness. And it was that kindness he saw when he looked up into those familiar eyes that looked at him politely without recognition.  
  
“I’m sorry, have we met?” He asked, and Varian jolted a bit.  
  
“Ah, no, I…” Varian rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “I’m sorry, you just look…you’re, uhm...”  
  
“Gorgeous?” Andrew asked jokingly, and his companion swatted him lightly. “Lots of people say that.” He flipped the ponytail style his hair was neatly tied into. “Prince Andrew of Saporia.” He smiled. “And this is my half-sister Juniper. And you?”  
  
“Varian Ruddiger, Royal Engineer of Corona.” Varian bowed at the waist. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Highnesses.”  
  
“Wait, hold on. You said your name is ‘Varian’, right?” Juniper asked. He tensed a bit. “Ah, I recognize you now! Kid with a teal stripe in his hair! Jenna will _not_ stop talking about you when we’re tending to the dragons together.”  
  
Varian stood up straight and blushed. “Ah, well…she’s been really nice.”  
  
“She says that you’re the one that trained and named Flynn when he was a baby.” Juniper grinned. “That’s pretty cool, kid.”  
  
“Oh, you’re here!” Rapunzel called, running over to them.  
  
“Ah, Princess Rapunzel.” Andrew greeted as he and Juniper both bowed at the waist.  
  
“Oh, wow, you’re both in pants?” Rapunzel asked in surprise.  
  
“Well, I could have worn a dress, but I don’t wear dresses unless I have to.” Juniper grinned.  
  
“She’s going to wear a _suit_ to her wedding.” Andrew smirked.  
  
“I will _hit_ you.” She nudged him.  
  
“I see you’ve met Varian, our Royal Engineer.” Rapunzel gestured to him. “And his assistant, Regulus.”  
  
“Pleasure.” Ruddiger smiled.  
  
“Come on, let’s go greet the others!” Rapunzel took their hands and pulled the royal siblings along.  
  
Varian watched them go with a sigh. “…I didn’t know they were related.” He admitted.  
  
“Seeing him without the fur vest is…odd.” Ruddiger remarked.  
  
Varian nodded.  
  
\--  
  
Having the Saporians as allies had opened up new possibilities, such as Corona gaining new technology. They also used their airships to help the Dark Kingdom rebuild, but Varian and Quirin still remained in Old Corona.   
  
“Maybe…I should expand.” Rapunzel said as she looked over her wall.  
  
Ruddiger laughed. “Or just start painting on the walls of the rest of the castle.”  
  
Varian frowned. “Ruddiger, you _know_ not to make jokes like—”  
  
“That’s IT!” Rapunzel said excitedly. “Here, take me down.”  
  
Varian shrugged and moved the black rock they were sitting on back down to disappear into the stone of the floor. “Are you _really_ going to ask your parents if you can paint everywhere in the castle?”  
  
“Yes!” She ran to the door, bumped into it, then laughed nervously and opened it. “I’ll see you two later!”  
  
“Well, I guess we should be going. Door or balcony?” Varian grinned.   
  
“Oh, you know I will _always_ choose the balcony.” Ruddiger grinned.  
  
Varian went to the balcony and held out a hand, creating black rocks that would allow them to climb down. He then climbed over and hopped down onto one before hopping onto another, Ruddiger coming down right behind him.  
  
Unlike Cassandra’s black rocks, his didn’t leave any cracks. Once retracted, they would just seamlessly slip back in like nothing had happened.   
  
“You know, you don’t even _need_ to climb or jump or whatever, you can just turn into green fire.” Varian said as he summoned another rock to catch Ruddiger when he nearly tripped on his own feet and fell.  
  
“Yeah, but sometimes you just gotta not turn into green fire and enjoy risking your life.” Ruddiger said as they continued to hop down.  
  
“Heh, check this out. I’m going to jump from here and catch myself by summoning a black rock before I hit the ground.” Varian said, grinning.  
  
“Uh, wait, what?!” Ruddiger cried, watching as he jumped. “Oh, no, no, no! Varian! Your dad said, ‘no more death-defying feats’!”  
  
“WHOO!” Varian cheered as he got closer to the ground. He summoned a black rock to come up and grabbed on, spinning around it to lower himself to the ground before he made the rocks all shrink back in, watching as Ruddiger changed into his green fire form and flew down in response.

“You little brat!” Ruddiger landed next to him and shoved him lightly, laughing.  
  
“Oh.”  
  
They both jolted in surprise. ‘I…forgot he was in town today.’ Varian thought, looking over his shoulder at Andrew, who was looking at him like he fell from the sky. Which…he did. Yeah…   
  
“Prince Andrew!” He greeted, as they both bowed at the waist. “Sorry about that.” He stood up properly. “Didn’t mean to alarm you.”  
  
“Oh, no, it’s fine.” Andrew assured him. “I’m sure this a daily routine for you, I’m the outsider here.”  
  
“Well, I’m sorry for alarming you, all the same.” Varian walked up to him. He was in royal fineries again today, and it still felt weird not seeing his collarbone and neck. Was that weird? Thinking about that?  
  
“Uhm, you had a trade meeting today, right?” He asked awkwardly. “How’d that go?”  
  
“Well enough, I suppose.” He looked to the side. “The Seven Kingdoms still aren’t quite ready to be Eight, so we’re still considered a part of Corona. It’s a start, though.”  
  
Varian nodded.  
  
“We keep meeting.” Andrew hummed. “I feel like I’ve known you for a long time, though. Something about you just…I can’t explain it.” He brought a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “I feel like…we have history. And yet, we’ve never met.”  
  
“Maybe you’re mistaking chemistry for history.” Varian joked.  
  
“Perhaps…” He jolted. “Oh, pardon me. I didn’t mean to _flirt_ with you. Again.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I keep doing that by accident…I should probably return to my room, it’s getting late.”  
  
“Yeah, I’m going to head to mine. See you around, Your Highness.” He headed off, Ruddiger following him.  
  
“Relax.” He told him.  
  
“I _am_ relaxed.” Varian hissed as they walked.  
  
“He’s not going to remember you unless I undo the spell.” Ruddiger smiled a bit. “And I won’t.”  
  
“Clearly, those lingering feeling of hate are warping into—into something else. Something that I haven’t really… _considered_ with—with him. I mean, he’s too old.”  
  
“He’s the same age as Cassandra, and you had a crush on her for a loooong time.” Varian reminded him.  
  
“And just because _he_ doesn’t remember _me_ , it doesn’t mean _I_ don’t remember _him_ and how am I supposed to—I mean, with our _history_ …that he doesn’t know we have.” He wrapped his arms around himself. “This is complicated.”  
  
“Well, at least he’s not trying to kill you.” Ruddiger shrugged.  
  
“No, he might want to k-i- two OTHER letters me, instead.” Varian said as he opened the outside door of his lab and they went in, closing and locking it for the night before they went to their shared guest room.  
  
Ruddiger chuckled. “The horror.” He said as they entered their room.  
  
“Cassandra should be contacting us tomorrow.” Varian said as he took off his gloves, goggles and apron. He sat down on the bed and started on his boots. “We’ll find out then if the book I sent her to get is what the rumors say.”  
  
Ruddiger nodded, taking off his own alchemy gear and flopping onto the bed on his back. “Soooo…”  
  
“I’m _still_ not telling you what I’m working on.” Varian smirked at him.  
  
“Oh, come on!” Ruddiger rolled onto his side to face him.  
  
“Ruddiger, you _overshare_ , and I don’t want you to let it slip to Maximus, Pascal and the others. You will find out when they find out.” Varian set his boots down and got up to pick out his nightclothes.  
  
“Oh, right.” Ruddiger rolled to look away.  
  
“Dad’s not here and you’ve seen me change clothes many times since I met you.” Varian rolled his eyes.  
  
“Meh.” Ruddiger shrugged. “Don’t wanna take the chance, not after last time.”  
  
“Dad’s overprotective.” Varian said, taking off his shirt.  
  
“Can you blame him? With those scars?” Ruddiger sat up. “He wasn’t attentive _enough_ and you got in trouble and got hurt, so of course he’s overcompensating now.”  
  
“Yeah, I know.” Varian moved a hand to the scars from his kidnapping half a year ago. He could still feel the impact, the pain, the way she’d looked down at him coldly and didn’t even bother asking if he was hurt. She’d said she didn’t want hurt him but then did just that with no remorse. And then she’d slapped him. And then tried to kill him multiple times.  
  
That was in the past now. The power was his alone now, that tower was Jenna’s and Flynn’s home and Cassandra was his “errand girl”. Her mother had birthed her to have a student she could control and then promptly abandoned her when she had to kidnap a child to keep the Sundrop Flower, and it was justice for her to endure the fate her mother planned for her under his control.   
  
He had nothing to fear from her, not a thing. But, sometimes, the memories cropped up…  
  
“Are you in your own head again?” Ruddiger got up and walked over to wrap his arms around his bare shoulders from behind, gently stroking his cheek soothingly. Varian chuckled and nodded.  
  
“I’m okay, Ruddiger.” He gently nudged him off and continued changing for bed.  
  
Ruddiger stepped back and walked over to look out the window. “Can you believe it’s been a year already?”  
  
“I know, where did the time go?” Varian asked thoughtfully.  
  
“I dunno, it kind of flew by while you were making criminal connections, I think.” Ruddiger teased.  
  
“Time flies by when you’re meeting your underworld fans.” Varian said dramatically, then they both laughed before Varian finished dressing for bed and crawled over to the pillow. “Okay, I’m done. You can change now.” He turned around.  
  
Ruddiger nodded and went to do that. “We’ll find the other Chosen, kid. Thing about Destiny, it makes sure things happen. Even if it has to take a _lot_ of steps to do it.”  
  
“I don’t really care about Destiny, I just want to study the other artifacts.” Varian shrugged. “The legends I’ve heard so far don’t say _anything_ about Destiny.”  
  
“Yeah, but nothing about the Sun and Moon legend mentioned it, either.” Ruddiger pointed out, then finished changing and climbed into bed. Varian snuggling up to him right away. “But, they’re all from the same Cosmic Event. There’s gotta be _something_ intended for them.”  
  
“And what will become of us?” Varian looked up at him. “Of Rapunzel and I? And whoever the other two are?”  
  
Ruddiger looked unsure. “I don’t know. But, I will never,” he gently stroked his cheek, “ _ever_ let anyone hurt you again.”  
  
“No promises.” Varian reminded him. “No false guarantees.”  
  
Ruddiger pulled him closer and kissed his forehead. “Just a lot of effort.”  
  
Varian smiled and closed his eyes, resting his head against his collarbone. “I can accept that.”  
  
Ruddiger smiled.  
  
\--  
  
Rapunzel looked out at her Kingdom, sighing softly. She hadn’t told Varian yet, or _anyone_ , but she had been plagued with that familiar, haunting tune she grew up knowing playing in her head for the past month. She wasn’t that anymore, though. She was no longer Rapunzel the Sundrop Flower, she was just Rapunzel Til Sonne, the Princess of Corona. Destiny didn’t have anything to do with her, just carrying on her family line. She’d put adventures and magic and Destiny behind her when she asked them to remove the Sundrop from her chest during that fateful eclipse.  
  
“Sunshine,” She turned to see her husband Eugene Lune Sonne smiling sleepily at her from the balcony window, “what’s got you up so late, hm?”  
  
As a compromise with his heritage, he had chosen to give up his last name for his father’s and now he’d taken it as a middle-name when he married into the Sonne family, solidifying the connection between Corona and the Dark Kingdom for good and starting a new age.  
  
“Oh, it’s nothing.” She brushed her hair behind her ear. “I just couldn’t sleep. It’s too beautiful a night.”  
  
“Mm, well, we do have to sleep.” He walked over to her and sat on the balcony railing. “And you’re still a terrible liar.” He grinned.  
  
She sat next to him and sighed, taking his hand in hers, feeling his wedding ring pressing against her fingers. It was still slightly damaged from the day that Varian had used it to find the final incantation for Rapunzel, at his own risk, but it was fine. It was proof of all they’d gone through, all they survived together.  
  
She looked out at the moon shining down and wondered if Varian was having trouble sleeping or if the Moonstone inside of him was being blissfully silent and not singing to him, calling to him like the Sundrop was to her. She was frightened of answering that call. She didn’t want what would come with it: the constant fear, the long hair, the danger. Varian had come to terms with being a Chosen, but he’d in the end _chosen_ the Moonstone, ripped it out of Cassandra’s chest and put it in his. _She_ never got that choice. She was _born_ with the Sundrop in her body and had _suffered_ as a result.  
  
And now that she was finally experiencing a normal life, it was calling to her again. She’d gone out following her Destiny before and suffered. What did it want now? What did Destiny want with her? Why not just _let her be_?!  
  
Things were great! She was happily married, she was the princess of a flourishing Kingdom, she was helping restore Saporia and becoming great friends with Andrew and Juniper despite the shared pasts they’d forgotten they had, things…things were great! Amazing! Completely wonderful!  
  
“And now it wants _more_ from me?” She hissed, unaware she’d said it out-loud until Eugene cleared his throat.  
  
“Who wants what?” He questioned.  
  
“I…” She sighed. “I’m sorry, Eugene. I…I don’t want to talk about it.” She moved closer to him. “Please, help me get to sleep?” She moved her hand to his chest, resting it just inside the opening of his night-shirt. “I can’t sleep on my own.”  
  
“Okay.” He took her hand. “Promise me that you’ll tell me when you’re ready, though?”  
  
She nodded. “I promise.”  
  
He stood up and lifted her into his arms, taking her back to bed. “Then, I’ll wait however long it takes.” He promised.


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian and Rapunzel attempt to surprise Pascal, Hamuel and Maximus with some new alchemy, but it doesn't go quite as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (c) Disney

“Okay, okay, Ruddiger is bringing them.” Varian said as he finished preparing the alchemy balls. “I’ve managed to keep him in the dark about this, so don’t say a word.”  
  
“I won’t.” Rapunzel said, giddy with excitement. She caught sight of the safe and thought of the Sundrop inside of it, safely encased in black rock with her name on it, waiting for her to take it back, if she ever wanted to.  
  
“Everything alright?” He looked at her.  
  
“Oh! Uhm…yes.” She nodded. “So, if things go as planned…they should come out of this talking like humans, right?”  
  
“Assuming I did it right.” Varian looked over his notes. “It’s not easy transposing Saporian magic to alchemy, and the spell I found was faded, anyway.”  
  
“Why not ask for a less faded one?” Rapunzel asked.  
  
“I _did_ , but they said that a _lot_ of their magic was lost over the centuries, and if they had a spell like that they’d have used it on the dragons long ago.” Varian shrugged.  
  
“Mm.” She looked towards the safe again.   
  
“Rapunzel?” He turned to her.  
  
“Hm?” She smiled, looking at him.  
  
“You okay?” He asked, his brow furrowed.  
  
“I’m okay. I just…” She sighed. “It’s safe, right? No one can get it?”  
  
“Unbreakable black rocks.” Varian nodded.  
  
“Good.” Rapunzel nodded. “Uhm, Varian—”  
  
“Hold on.” A high ringing filled the air and he picked up a glowing mirror, touching it. “Stalyan?”  
  
“We had a bit of a problem; someone broke in and attacked. We’re all fine and the book is secure, but Cassandra’s hurt.” She informed him.  
  
He sighed. “Get her treatment, I can wait for the book. How about the others?”  
  
“Owl is fine and Fidella was outside at the time. Anthony is whining like a baby over a scratch, and the Royal Guards you sent with her are interrogating the would-be thief. No one else is hurt, Cassandra was just holding their target at the time.”  
  
“That’s optimistic news, the book might actually be as rumored, then.” Varian nodded, then heard the door opening. “I’ll contact you later.”  
  
“Until then, Alchemist.” The mirror went dark.  
  
“Communication mirrors really come in handy.” He said to Rapunzel as he turned to Ruddiger, who had brought in Maximus, Hamuel and Pascal. “Okay, guys. Are you ready for the big surprise?”  
  
Hamuel let out a caw.  
  
Ruddiger chuckled and set them down. “Hamuel is wondering why you had me take him from ‘Prince Horace’.”  
  
“He’s _still_ calling him that, huh?” Rapunzel giggled.  
  
“Well, if you’ll let me do this, then you’ll be able to go back to him, okay?” Varian picked up the alchemy balls. “Uh, Ruddiger, can you step to the side? I don’t know what effect this will have on, uhm, humans.”  
  
“Okay.” Ruddiger walked over to stand next to Rapunzel. “So, what effect is it supposed to have on animals?”  
  
“Well, it’s _supposed_ to give them the ability to speak human.” He said as he tossed the three balls. They were all engulfed in bright, orange smoke before they heard one of them hacking and coughing in the smoke.   
  
“Geez, why is it always smoke?!”  
  
“Uhm, Varian?”  
  
“Was this supposed to happen?”  
  
The smoke started to clear and Rapunzel realized two things: One, they were human now. Two, they were naked. She quickly turned away while Ruddiger grabbed Varian’s fur cloak and threw it on top of them.  
  
“Huh.” Varian said, looking confused. “ _That_ wasn’t supposed to happen.”  
  
“I’ll get blankets.” Ruddiger suggested, leaving the lab while Rapunzel kept herself turned away from the trio.  
  
“Please, tell me there’s an antidote.” The man sitting where Maximus had stood said.  
  
“I need to figure out what happened.” Varian said apologetically.  
  
Ruddiger came in and offered the three of them blankets, making sure they were covered before he hung the fur cloak back up. “Well, this is a surprise. Hey, look, Max! You’ve got hands now!”  
  
“Yes and, once I learn how to _use_ them, I’m going to wring your neck!” Maximus said, glaring up at him.  
  
“Hey, I didn’t know this would happen.” Ruddiger said, stepping back a few paces.  
  
Pascal looked around then raised his arm up to tug at his green hair. “…I’m human?”  
  
“So,” the scarred man sitting where Hamuel was started, “this was _not_ supposed to happen?”  
  
“Yeah, sorry.” Varian rubbed his arm awkwardly.  
  
“Hm.” He raised his hand, looking at the Brotherhood mark on it with interest.  
  
“Rapunzel, they’re, uhm, covered up now. You can look.” Varian said, looking at her.  
  
Rapunzel turned around and gasped before squealing. “Oh, this is great!”  
  
“This is _not_ great.” Maximus shook his head.  
  
“No, it IS! Pascal has always been like a little brother to me and now I can actually do human-little-brother things with him!” Rapunzel said excitedly. “And, Maximus, wow, just think of how much better you’ll be at helping Eugene with the Royal Guard, now that you can actually fully communicate! And Hamuel…have you always been so, uh, scarred?”  
  
He just blinked at her. “This is _not_ the expected result?”  
  
“We should…uhm…I’m gonna go arrange for them to get some clothes.” Rapunzel headed out of the lab.  
  
Maximus sighed heavily.  
  
“I mean, it’s not so bad.” Pascal said, holding his hair and concentrating on making it turn different colors. “I can do _this_ , still. That’s cool. Maybe you still have your speed.”  
  
Eugene came running into the lab. “Varian, Rapunzel just told me that—whooooa, you really did.”  
  
“Yeah…something went wrong when I was transposing the properties of this spell to give animals human speech and they, uhm…turned human.” Varian said sheepishly.  
  
“It’s not so bad being human.” Ruddiger said casually, leaning on a table.  
  
“Can you…fix it?” Eugene asked.  
  
“I’m not sure.” Varian admitted. “I’m still trying to figure out what went wrong. But, good news, aside from being human they seem to be perfectly healthy.”  
  
“I apologize for you seeing me in such a way, Prince Horace.” Hamuel said, bowing his head.  
  
“Oh, uh…it’s okay. And, please, call me Eugene. I mean, I’ve gotten everyone else to.” Eugene said awkwardly. “Has he been calling me that this whole time?”   
  
“He’s been scolding us for _not_ doing it.” Pascal said, slowly pushing himself to his feet, using Hamuel’s shoulder as a brace.  
  
“You’re welcome.” Hamuel said absently as he was used as a brace.  
  
“Okay…I can do this. I don’t have a tail this time, but I can do this.” Pascal said, stumbling a bit. “Whoa.”  
  
“Come on.” Eugene smiled and offered him a hand.  
  
“He’s doing okay, Eugene.” Ruddiger assured him. “Why don’t you help Maximus? Two legs is new for him.”  
  
Maximus was concentrating on moving his fingers and opening and closing his hands. Eugene walked over and knelt to offer him his hands to help him stand up.  
  
“No.” Maximus pulled his hands away. “With all due respect, Captain, and you have _so_ much of it, I still have my pride. Please, allow me overcome this by myself.”  
  
Eugene smiled and nodded, standing up. “Okay.”  
  
“W-Whoa!” Pascal yelped and Ruddiger went over and caught him when he fell onto his front, landing instead safely into Ruddiger’s arms, his face in his chest. “You’re so much taller than me still.”  
  
“You’re pretty much the same size as Varian.” Ruddiger grinned. “Oh! On that note, let’s go see if his clothes fit you.” He made sure the blanket was tight around him and then carried him out. “We’ll be back!”  
  
Varian looked up from his notes. “Huh?”  
  
“He’s going to see if your clothes fit Pascal.” Eugene told him.  
  
“Oh. Okay.” Varian set the notes down. “I don’t understand how _this_ happened. I ran the calculations, I studied the spell’s properties extensively, it shouldn’t have…something happened during the transposing process.” He murmured as he sat down to read over his notes again.  
  
“Right...” Eugene looked at the other two. “Guess it’s just you and me, huh, boys? Good news, Max, you look like you’d fit the official Captain of the Guard uniform I don’t actually use, so you can wear that for work. Shouldn’t be hard to get you back to it.” He grinned.  
  
“Good.” Maximus nodded, then slowly gripped Hamuel’s shoulder and pushed himself to his feet, his body trembling from the effort but he _refused_ to be beaten by this!   
  
Hamuel looked at him. “Would the wall not be more sturdy?”  
  
“Yes, but…oof.” Maximus slipped a bit. “I am not…against the wall. And I refuse to _crawl_.”  
  
“Oh.” Hamuel stood up and Maximus gasped before he was caught by a firm, dark-skinned arm. “Then, it would be better for me to stand.” Hamuel said, making no move to actually hold him, just keep him from falling.  
  
“I see that you have shifted into your more coherent state.” Maximus said, moving his hand up to grip Hamuel’s shoulder and pull himself upright.  
  
“I’m going to go see how Rapunzel is doing about getting them clothes. Will you be able to handle them on your own?” Eugene turned to Varian.  
  
Varian looked over at them, Maximus struggling to stand while Hamuel stood calm and firm for him to use as support to do so. “Should be okay, yeah.”  
  
“Great.” Eugene headed out. “Max, I’ll bring you that uniform, okay? And, uh, I’ll contact the Brotherhood, I’m sure they have some…clothing for you, Ham.”  
  
“As you wish, Prince Horace.” He paused. “Ah…right. Prince Eugene.”  
  
“You got it.” Eugene gave him a thumbs-up and headed out.  
  
Varian sighed. “I’m sorry, guys. I didn’t intend for _this_ to happen.”  
  
“It’s alright. We’ll adjust.” Hamuel assured him.  
  
“…Just…try to find a way to undo it.” Maximus said, slowly taking his hands off Hamuel’s shoulders as he felt stable enough to stand on his own.  
  
“I-I will. I’ll ask the Saporians.” Varian ran a hand through his hair. “Oh, what a mess.”  
  
Maximus looked uncomfortable and gestured to him, but Hamuel just shrugged. Neither of them had Ruddiger’s or Pascal’s skill in comforting a distressed teenager and they both felt kind of awkward about approaching him clothed in only blankets, anyway.  
  
“Alright, the cool kids are coming in.” Ruddiger said as he walked in with Pascal, the latter wearing Varian’s clothes without any shoes. “Hey, where’s Eugene?”  
  
“You’re not a kid.” Maximus raised an eyebrow. “The Captain went to go get me a uniform to wear.”  
  
“Varian?” Pascal went over to him. “You okay?”  
  
“I’m just…trying to figure out how this even happened.” Varian shook his head.  
  
“Well, it’s gonna be okay.” Pascal assured him, patting his hand soothingly.  
  
Varian sighed and looked over. From what he could see, the height differences went like this: Pascal had Varian’s own height, maybe an inch taller at the very most. Ruddiger was the same height as Eugene. Maximus was the size of the old Captain of the Guards, in many ways, and Hamuel was a bit taller than that, towering over everyone else in the room.  
  
Speaking of the old Captain, no one had seen him since he resigned from his post. Maybe he’d sent himself on a self-imposed exile and didn’t tell anyone. Or…no, that was too grim a thought.  
  
“Hey.” Ruddiger walked over and poked Varian in the cheek. “Are you in your own head again?”  
  
“I’m just thinking.” Varian chuckled a bit. “And…” He sighed. “I’m just not sure what to do about this.”  
  
“We’ll figure it out.” Ruddiger assured him.  
  
“Okay, we’re back!” Rapunzel said, coming in with a bundle of clothes, Eugene right behind her. “Uhm, I kind of guesstimated with the measurements, but this should tide you over, Hamuel, until the Dark Kingdom sends some proper Brotherhood garments.” She handed them to him.  
  
“And, Maximus, these are for you.” Eugene walked up to him. “Let’s get you both to another room to get changed. Come on, I’ll help you if you need it.” He led them both out.  
  
Rapunzel sighed, then turned to the other three. “Aww! Pascal! You’re so cute!” She squealed.  
  
“Yeah, not too shabby in Varian’s old clothes.” Ruddiger grinned. “Good thing he’s a packrat.”  
  
“Hey.” Varian shoved him a bit and Ruddiger laughed.  
  
\--  
  
Once Maximus and Hamuel were clothed, Rapunzel and Eugene took them and Pascal to an empty dining hall to learn how to use silverware and eat like humans. Pascal caught on quickly, but Hamuel and Maximus both took some…well, they took some practice.  
  
After they’d figured _that_ out, Eugene and Maximus went out to the training grounds to teach him how to fight with a sword as a human, and also explain the situation to the other guards. Hamuel followed closely, his ever-watchful personal guard that Eugene didn’t even realize he’d _had_ until today.  
  
This left Rapunzel and Pascal to try out things together they hadn’t been able to do. Since Rapunzel’s hair was still growing out, he couldn’t do much with it besides brush it and play with hairpins, but it was enough for her to beam at him in the mirror.  
  
“We have _so_ many years of you being too little to make up for.” She grinned at him. “I mean, we had lots of fun, but now we can have more!”  
  
He nodded. “This is gonna be great!”  
  
“I notice you skipped on shoes.” She eyed his bare feet with a grin.  
  
“Shoes are restrictive, you always say, and I agreed with you when Ruddiger tried to put them on me.” He moved his hands away. “There!”  
  
She looked in the mirror. “Aww, you used the butterfly ones! Thank you! They match my dress today perfectly!”  
  
He scooted forward and sat next to her. “Hey, you gonna tell me what’s been bugging you?”  
  
“Hm?” She blinked. “Oh. I guessed you noticed, huh?”  
  
“Duh.” He nudged her. “Come on, you never keep secrets from me.”  
  
She sighed. “Well…” She took his hand in hers. “You know how I gave up the Sundrop?”  
  
“Yeah, that was a really intense moment, and one of your biggest decisions.” He nodded. “Well, biggest after choosing to leave the tower against your manipulative, abusive mother’s orders.”  
  
She nudged him. “Well…I think it’s been calling to me. I keep hearing the…the tune of the magic connected to it, to the Sundrop and the Moonstone and probably the others, too. That same tune. I keep hearing it, and I can feel it pulling at me, at my mind, my heart, telling me that I have more to do, I’m not finished yet. And I’m…I’m afraid.”  
  
“Afraid?” He asked.  
  
“I’m afraid to get that power back. To have the hair, the fear, the danger involved with it. I’m afraid that, if I take the Sundrop back…I may never remove it again. And I…I _want_ a normal life, Pascal. I want to live happily in this castle with Eugene and have children here and be King and Queen together and grow old together and, I…” She clenched at her chest. “I’ve nearly lost him so many times. I’ve had my heart broken, been hurt, so many times. I just want it to be _over_. _Why_ can’t it be _over_ , Pascal?”  
  
He gently took her hands in his and leaned his head on her shoulder. “I wish I could take the burden from you…”  
  
She smiled and closed her eyes. “Thanks, Pascal. That helps a little.”  
  
He smiled brightly. “So…what do you want to do now?”  
  
“Hm…” Rapunzel looked thoughtful. “Let’s make you some new clothes! I mean, Varian’s old ones look _so cute_ on you, but I miss your scale pattern.”  
  
He grinned. “Okay!”  
  
\--  
  
Maximus supposed that it wasn’t…as bad as it could be. He had enough determination to learn quickly and, though his steps were clumsy, he was learning to fight as a human. The armor fit him well, and Eugene was getting him some clothes for when he wouldn’t be in uniform, which…he _supposed_ he needed. He couldn’t picture himself being out of uniform, though. Even as a horse, he had _always_ been in uniform.  
  
He felt a tap on his shoulder and gasped, turning quickly. Ruddiger ducked out of the way of his sword and raised an eyebrow. “Oh. Sorry, Ruddiger.”  
  
“You might want to sheathe that, if you’re going to be spacing out.” Ruddiger offered him an apple.  
  
“Oh, tha—is this from my saddlebag?” He frowned at him.  
  
“You’re not using it. Besides, I got it for you.” He took a bite from another one he had.  
  
Maximus sighed and took the offered apple, taking a bite. “You’re a pest as always.”  
  
“You seem to be adjusting quickly.” Ruddiger remarked.  
  
“I have to. The men look to me, I cannot let them down by being held back by this change of form. However long it takes, if I am ever restored to my original state, I will continue to serve my Kingdom with honor and diligence.”  
  
Ruddiger nodded, taking another bite. “Fidella won’t be back when planned.”  
  
“Did something happen to her?” He asked with concern.  
  
“The place they were at got attacked. Fidella and Owl are alright, but Cassandra’s too wounded to make the trip back, so she’s staying at Stalyan’s for a time. She called Varian about it just before you guys came in.”  
  
Maximus sighed. “Well…it can’t be helped, I suppose. At least Fidella is alright.” He froze. “What if she comes back and sees me like _this_?”  
  
“Well, then she’ll probably find you attractive, for a human.” Ruddiger smirked.  
  
Maximus groaned. “Please, _tell me_ you can fix this.”  
  
“I make no promises. Varian and I are going to be going to Saporia to talk to someone on the matter soon, we’ll let you know what we find out.” Ruddiger assured him. “In the meantime, we ask that you keep Lance out of the lab and try not to push yourselves. Take it from me, turning human after being an animal for as long as you can remember? Not fun.”  
  
Maximus chuckled a bit. “Well, as you said, I seem to be adjusting quickly.” He turned and started to swipe his sword at the air.  
  
“Varian said that the Sundrop is reacting to something.”  
  
He blinked and looked over his shoulder at him. “What?”  
  
“The Sundrop is reacting to something. He can feel it connecting to the Moonstone, singing to him. Something is calling them.” Ruddiger sighed. “Princess Rapunzel might have to take it back.”  
  
“I hope not. She’s happy with her life now. The _last_ time she went out chasing destiny…” He trailed off, his expression grim.  
  
They both knew what happened when she last did that, even if Ruddiger hadn’t been there to witness it personally. He’d sat with Varian as he went through Rapunzel’s journal at her earnest suggestion and, while it wasn’t just like being there, it was the closest they could get. After all, they’d been in prison at the time, it wasn’t Rapunzel’s fault they’d missed out.  
  
“Still…” He said, looking to the side. “Destiny has a funny way of making sure it gets its way, even if it has to take some extra steps to do it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe Varian should stop trying to transpose magic into alchemy, it never seems to go well...


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian gets some answers from Saporia, and the newly-human animals adjust to their new life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (c) Disney

It occurred to Varian that, in the half a year it’d been rebuilt, he’d never stepped foot into Saporia despite it being so close to his home in Old Corona. The land they’d been given back was the area around the Sundrop Flower, since, apparently, the cliff the monument was on was where Saporia castle used to be. They, just like the Dark Kingdom, had built their Kingdom around the Sundrop Flower to protect it.  
  
Though, unlike the Moonstone Opal, the Sundrop Flower didn’t slowly kill everyone around it. Varian glanced at Ruddiger as they approached the gates of Saporia, recalling when he’d told him privately about his being to blame for the war, when he was an active Disciple of Zhan Tiri.  
  
“How did they rebuild the entire Kingdom in such a short amount of time?” Varian wondered as they approached the gates.   
  
Ruddiger chuckled. “Well, we can ask. They probably used some kind of invention to speed up the process.”  
  
“Close, but we used more than that.”  
  
Varian looked up and saw Andrew standing on top of the gates with a guard. “Your Highness!” He greeted.  
  
“What brings the Royal Engineer of Corona to Saporia?” He asked pleasantly, leaning on the stone wall casually.  
  
He was in his usual fur vest this time, but his shirt was different, with the collar going to up to his neck and lined with gold on the red. It was similar, but not the same. A clear sign that things had truly, completely changed.   
  
Then again, it could just be the time of year.   
  
“I need help.” Varian admitted. “I messed up on something and I don’t know how to fix it.”  
  
“I’ll be right down.” Andrew left his view. Varian waited a bit and then watched as the gates opened up to let them in. “So,” he said, as they stepped into the Kingdom, “what’s happened?”  
  
“Okay, so…” Varian looked a bit embarrassed. “I was trying to transpose a spell that would give animals human speech into alchemy and it…turned them human, instead.” He handed him the faded note with the spell.  
  
“Jenna mentioned you were trying something like that out.” He accepted it and looked it over. “Hm…really, you _should’ve_ just used the spell. Trying to transpose magic into alchemy is a tricky process and often leads to, well, mishaps.”  
  
“Is there a way to fix this?” Varian asked anxiously.  
  
“I’m not sure.” Andrew handed it back. “I’ll take you to see The Wizard, he’ll know what to do.” He turned to go. “Come on, his tower is this way.”  
  
Varian nodded and smiled at Ruddiger before they followed him.  
  
Leaving the gate, they found the road was lined with crystals and there were fruit trees with an interesting fruit that Varian hadn’t seen before. The path itself was made of a stone that shimmered as he stepped on it, in various colors so it was an interesting sight to look down and see the stone light up as he stepped on them.  
  
Andrew chuckled, having stopped to see what was keeping him. “Is this your first time here, Varian?”  
  
Varian looked up at him. “Oh. Uh, yes sir. Your Highness.” He blushed a bit.  
  
“It’s fine, take your time.” Andrew assured him. “Kline doesn’t even know we’re coming.” He paused. “Or _does_ he?” He added cryptically.  
  
“What’s that mean?” Varian asked, looking up at him again.   
  
“You’ll understand soon.” Andrew assured him, leading him down the colorful path to a crossroads, which he took the right path for. “To get to the castle, follow the center path to the end. You’ll also find the Pegasus Stables and the Dragon Cliffs there, as well as the Sundrop Shrine. The city is to the left.” He explained as they walked, Varian turning his head to look towards the other paths.  
  
“Sundrop Shrine?” Varian asked, looking back at him.  
  
Andrew nodded. “There used to be a shrine that protected the Sundrop Flower, it had murals and stained-glass windows and everything. We recreated it, to the best of our abilities, and put it in front of the monument.”  
  
Varian looked at Ruddiger, who nodded. There _had_ been such a thing…until the Disciples burned it down. He didn’t say that though, because Andrew had no idea he even _was_ a Disciple or what their hand was in the whole war that had destroyed his Kingdom. And, with luck, he never would.  
  
Andrew led them to a tall tower that was made of stone but had crystals decorating the outside, as well as stained-glass windows. The door itself was made of wood, and it opened as they approached.  
  
“Ah, the Moonstone!” A man that looked to be in his fifties stepped out gleefully. “I sensed your coming, yes, yes! You come seeking answers!”  
  
“Uhm…call me Varian.” Varian said awkwardly.  
  
“Please, come in, come in! I have drinks all ready for the three of you! Yes, I sensed your coming. Welcome, welcome, all of you are esteemed visitors!” He gestured them inside.  
  
“This is Kline, we call him ‘The Wizard’.” Andrew introduced. “He used to work with Lord Demanitus.”  
  
“You did?” Ruddiger asked.  
  
“Well, up until he left me for that _demon._ ” Kline sighed heavily. “Well, let’s go in, come, come!”  
  
They entered and he gestured them to a table, which they all took seats at while he closed the door and went to set their drinks in front of them. “Yes, I have been anticipating this day.”  
  
“You have?” Varian asked.  
  
Andrew just accepted his drink and sipped it politely, as if he was used to this erratic behavior from the man. Thinking about it, he probably was.  
  
“Yes, yes.” Kline smiled brightly. “So long have I wanted to meet you, but I didn’t want to frighten you, so I kept my distance. Ah, you have such a light in your eyes. The moon’s light.”  
  
Andrew cleared his throat and set down his drink. “Kline, before we get into what you’re probably about to say, he came here for help.”  
  
“Yes?” Kline looked at Varian expectantly.  
  
Varian handed over the faded spell. “I tried to transpose this into alchemy, but it…uhm, they turned into human instead of just gaining human speech.”  
  
“Ah, I see.” Kline looked the spell over. “Why did you not just use the spell?”  
  
“I wanted to do it with alchemy.” Varian glanced away, his cheeks pink.  
  
“Well, there are often mishaps involved with transposing magic to alchemy, don’t be concerned.” He handed it back to him. “Let’s see…restoring form…” He got up and went to one of the books lining the wall. “Restoring form…” He picked one out and read through it. “Well, if you’d used the spell then this would be a snap. However, for this, you might actually need the Galaxy Crystal to undo it.”  
  
“You know about it?” Varian asked excitedly. “Do you know where it is?”  
  
“Well, no. No one does. However, it is said, that once all four Chosen are gathered at the Shrine of the Cosmos, it will appear.” Kline put the book back. “On that note, have you heard it calling to you?” He moved back to the table. “Have you heard the songs? Do you feel the tug?”  
  
Varian glanced away. “Uhm…songs?”  
  
“Yes, yes, the songs! The hymns, the incantations! Every one of the Artifacts of the Cosmos has the same hymn, and they are calling to each other! Have you heard it?”  
  
Varian moved his hand to his chest, closing his eyes. He _had_ been hearing a tune in his head, and he _did_ feel like the Sundrop had been calling to him. Was this what Rapunzel was hearing and feeling when she left on that quest two years ago?  
  
“I…I have.” He finally admitted.  
  
“Ah! Yes! Good!” Kline said excitedly. “Then, you should be meeting one of the others very soon!”  
  
“What?” Varian looked startled.  
  
“Yes, I can feel them coming. They don’t have the Artifact yet, but they are coming. They hear the hymn.” He took Varian’s hands in his. “They feel the tug, just as you do. And then you and they and the Sundrop must journey to find the fourth, and seek out the Earth Stone! It is your Destiny!”  
  
Destiny, as Ruddiger had said, had a way of making sure you did as it wanted. Even if it had to take extra steps. In this case, turning Pascal, Hamuel and Maximus human. If Varian wanted to restore them, he needed the Galaxy Crystal.   
  
“But, Princess Rapunzel gave up the Sundrop.” He shook his head and pulled his hands free.  
  
“I assure you, she is hearing the hymn. Just ask her. And wait, for the third one is coming to you.” Kline said, his eyes wide and shining with intensity.  
  
“Okay.” Andrew set down his cup. “Thank you, Kline, but I believe we should be going.”  
  
“Oh. But, they haven’t finished their drinks.” Kline said, moving back from the table.  
  
Varian picked up his drink, hot cocoa, and started to drink it, trying not to feel too rattled by everything. Ruddiger drank his own drink, apple juice. Somehow, this guy knew just what they liked.  
  
They finished and then Varian got up. “Well, uhm…thank you, Kline, for your help.”  
  
“Of course.” Kline smiled. “Remember, you must wait. They will come to you, and they will know the hymn. You will feel it when they arrive, I am sure.”  
  
Varian nodded, then went to the door. “Oh, wait.” He looked at Kline. “Why didn’t I feel Rapunzel arriving when I first met her?”  
  
“Oh, well…Destiny was not ready for you to feel the pull yet. Not to her.” Kline smiled.  
  
“…Right. Thank you.” Varian opened the door and then stepped out, Ruddiger and Andrew behind him.  
  
“Thank you for your assistance today, Kline.” Andrew said as they left.  
  
“Of course, Your Highness.” Kline bowed at the waist and then watched them go as they headed back down the path.  
  
“I suppose you’re going back to Corona now.” Andrew said as they walked.  
  
“I have to tell them the, uh…news.” Varian nodded. “This is going to be difficult. Plus, I have to explain to King Fredric that his daughter has to go on another potentially-dangerous quest…” He shook his head.  
  
“ _That’s_ going to go over well. I get the impression you two don’t get along.” Andrew remarked.  
  
“No, we…” Varian sighed, glancing at him. He didn’t remember any of it. Any of what he’d told him, what they’d been through. It was for the best, but he missed being able to talk to him about how much he hated the man. “We don’t.” He nodded.  
  
Andrew smiled sympathetically and reached up to gently place his hand on his shoulder. It was such a familiar motion, one he’d done for so long when all they had was each other and when they’d broken out and taken over, and Varian couldn’t help but take comfort and strength from it.  
  
\--  
  
Varian had come back with bad news. There was no way to restore the animals back to normal – no way, that is, besides the miraculous power of the Galaxy Crystal. Destiny had, once again, forced their hand and Rapunzel was faced with giving up her life as she now knew it or leaving her friends in this changed state.   
  
“We don’t have to make a decision now.” Varian had told her. “We don’t even have the Earth Chosen yet.”  
  
Yet. Meaning they were going to meet them at some point, possibly soon. And the singing was getting louder, making her toss and turn in her sleep until she was waking up and going to the balcony in tears of frustration.  
  
The Sundrop wanted her, but _she_ didn’t want the _Sundrop_.   
  
It was getting to be bad enough that she was having trouble focusing. Eugene and Pascal both tried to help her, but she could only smile awkwardly and lie that she was fine.  
  
Of course, they saw right through her.  
  
“I can’t _take it_ anymore!” Rapunzel cried after returning to her room with a throbbing headache from trying to attend a banquet and talk to people while the Sundrop was singing to her. Her chest felt like it was on fire, and she felt ill but this wasn’t anything medicine could cure, it wasn’t a regular sickness  
  
“Rapunzel…” Pascal climbed up onto the bed and gently stroked her hair, trying to soothe her.  
  
“I can’t…I can’t take it anymore, Pascal.” She pushed herself up. “It’s calling me, constantly. I can’t keep fighting. It’s not fair…”  
  
He pulled her close and sighed, letting her sob into his shoulder. “It’s not fair!”  
  
“I know.” He said softly. “It’s not fair.”  
  
She sniffled and pulled back. “Oh, I’m sorry, I’m getting your new clothes all filthy…”  
  
“They’ll wash.” He waved it off.  
  
Rapunzel had made him pants, a vest and a long-sleeved shirt, all with patterns and colors just like his scales were before. He still refused to wear shoes, of course, something Old Lady Crowley had groused about after seeing the two of them running around the hallway she _just_ cleaned, their feet dirtying it up again.   
  
“Look, why don’t we talk to Eugene about it, and maybe the Brotherhood when they arrive? And certainly your parents, they have to know.” Pascal nodded.  
  
Speaking of King Fredric and Queen Arianna, Rapunzel was happy to say that they had adjusted to having Pascal as a human, as Rapunzel’s “little brother”, as well as Maximus and Hamuel both being human men now. If there was one good thing about the madness the Moonstone had caused, as well as her being born with the Sundrop inside of her, it was that the people of Corona just…shrugged off weird occurrences by now.  
  
At least this was due to alchemy and not some curse. Though, according to Varian, it would have been better to have just used the spell. Transposing it to alchemy complicated things.  
  
“I know.” She sighed, running her hands through her short, brown hair. She looked towards the mirror and wondered how much longer she’d have it this short.  
  
\--  
  
Eugene stood up as the airship carrying the Brotherhood set down on the ground, one of the workers of the new air-port tying it down before a ramp lowered and the Brotherhood were coming down, with King Edmund at the front.  
  
“Eugene!” He greeted, opening his arms. Eugene moved forward and they hugged for a bit. “Well, now, let me see him.” He let go of him and went to look Hamuel up and down. “Not too bad, Hamuel! Don’t worry, I have prepared a perfect outfit for you!” He looked to the side a bit. “I just hope it will fit, he’s bigger than I expected.”  
  
“Still saying your thoughts out loud, huh, dad?” Eugene said with an amused smile.  
  
“Prince Eugene.” Adira greeted as she came down with Hector, the latter carrying a chest. “It has been some time.”  
  
“It has.” Eugene nodded. “Is everything alright back home?”  
  
Home. Wow. Still a word he was having trouble equating with the Dark Kingdom, after all this time. He had a home. He had a family, a _crown_. He wondered if Rapunzel still felt this way about Corona.  
  
“Thanks to Saporia’s contributions, we have been making a rapid recovery, and we are making efforts to locate other survivors.” Adira nodded.  
  
“That’s good to hear.” Eugene nodded.  
  
“Prince Eugene.” Hector greeted as he passed by him to hand Hamuel a chest. “There’s a uniform and armor and a cloak. I made sure to put crow feathers on it.”  
  
“How kind.” Hamuel smiled as he accepted. “How many of them are mine?”  
  
“Well, the others contributed.” Hector shrugged.  
  
Hamuel turned to Eugene. “Prince Eugene, may I take my leave to go change?”  
  
“Yes, please, go change.” Eugene nodded.  
  
Hamuel nodded and headed into the airship to do so. Eugene ran a hand through his hair. “Quirin’s still in Old Corona, I didn’t know if you wanted me to have him here or not.”  
  
“We can visit him later.” Adira assured him. “Hamuel looks good. Strong.”  
  
Eugene nodded. “He is, he holds his own against Maximus pretty good in training.”  
  
“How long has he been like this?” Adira asked.  
  
“It’s been…oh, about a week now.” Eugene nodded. “They’re adjusting quickly, probably out of sheer determination and pride. Maximus refuses to ride any of the horses, but he’s just as fast as one, and as strong. You should’ve seen him yesterday, he body-slammed a thief and pinned him down to cuff him.”  
  
“And is there any way to restore them to their former forms?” She looked towards Hamuel, who was coming back down dressed in the black and navy-blue clothes he’d been brought, his feathered cloak draped over his shoulders and his gloved hand resting on a sword sheathed at his side. The Brotherhood mark was on both the clasp of his cloak and his belt.  
  
“Brother.” Hector walked towards him with a smile. “You look great.”  
  
Hamuel smiled shyly.  
  
“Well…” Eugene sighed, drawing Adira’s attention back to him. “Not without the Galaxy Crystal Varian’s been looking for. And he hasn’t had much luck with that.”  
  
Adira looked back at Hamuel. “Well, it wouldn’t be too bad if he stayed human, I think.” She hummed.  
  
Eugene looked towards him as well. “Yeah. But, is that what _he_ wants? I know Maximus wants to be a horse again. I mean, he has a girlfriend, Fidella.”  
  
“Well, then we’ll just have to hope he finds that crystal.” Adira shrugged.  
  
\--  
  
Maximus sighed, leaning on the door of Fidella’s stable. He knew she was okay, but he still worried for her. And what would she think if she saw him…like _this_? The other horses, which he somehow seemed to still be able to understand and communicate with, had assured him that she would still love him, but he was a human now. How could they be together?  
  
Unless…no. He couldn’t ask that of her. Although the thought of her becoming a beautiful woman with shining, blue eyes and chestnut hair and wearing a stunning green dress had entertained his dreams many times since he’d become human, he couldn’t ask her to give up her life as a horse just to be human by his side.  
  
“Maximus is spacing out again.” One of the others commented.  
  
“I bet he’s daydreaming about Fidella.” Another snickered.  
  
“I am still your Captain, show me the respect you normally would.” Maximus frowned at them.  
  
“Oh, apologies, Captain.” The first one said, then chuckled. “You _are_ spacing out though, sir.”  
  
“I am thinking. Thinking over my current situation.” He left Fidella’s door and went to leave the stable. “This could be permanent, if I want Princess Rapunzel to keep the life that she has now. I cannot ask her to give it up to find a way to restore me to my former form.” He clenched his fists and walked out.  
  
“Not sure she has much choice, Max.” Ruddiger said, and Maximus groaned internally. “The Sundrop is singing to her.”  
  
“I don’t know what that means.” Maximus turned to him. “Did you want something?”  
  
“I just came to tell you that the Brotherhood are here, Hamuel got some new clothes.” Ruddiger shrugged, then grinned a bit. “And also ask you if you wanted to try some alchemy, now that you have hands.”  
  
“…Alright.” Maximus nodded. “Why don’t we get Hamuel and Pascal and have a repeat of our little contest, while we’re at it?”  
  
“Sounds great to me.” Ruddiger grinned. “Race you to the Princess’s room?”  
  
Maximus raised an eyebrow. “No magic.”  
  
“No magic.” Ruddiger assured him. “Just speed.”  
  
“Very well.” Maximus smirked. “On three. One,”  
  
“Two,” Ruddiger grinned.  
  
“Three.” They took off running, dodging around startled maids as they ran into the castle and through the halls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How long can Rapunzel resist the call?


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone else answers the Sundrop's call and Rapunzel makes a choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (c) Disney 
> 
> ((Warning: A teenager swearing.))

Trees whizzed by as a wolf rushed down the road, a cloaked figure riding its back, half-gloved hands gripping its fur to hang on. They weaved around rocks jutting out of the ground and quickly approached the wall ahead of them. The rider slowly raised a hand. “Flora, hear my plea.” He said, and a tree sprouted from the ground and started to grow next to the wall. He slowly stood up, balancing himself on the wolf, and then leaped off it to grab a branch as the tree rose higher and higher. The wolf stopped and then lingered at the wall for a bit before walking off.  
  
“Hey, what—” A guard started to say, but was quickly taken out by a bird with a wave of the intruder’s hand.  
  
Then, with another wave of the hand, another tree grew on the other side of the wall and the stranger was going down, the trees sinking back into the earth like they never existed. Then he waved a hand and a horse came from a nearby farm, which he grabbed onto the reins of and hopped on, riding it through the woods and ignoring the alarmed cries of the villagers as he passed by them.  
  
There, Corona. He got off the horse and went to the water, moving his hand into the water. A dolphin swam up to him and he pulled on his silver goggles and climbed onto its back, holding his breath as it took him under the water, heading for the dock.  
  
At this late hour, it’d be practically empty. He got to the dock, the dolphin let him up and then he checked under his cloak to make sure his bag was still watertight before he snuck along in the darkness, heading for the castle.  
  
“Almost there…” He murmured.  
  
He stopped and ducked down as a patrolling guard came by. “Go somewhere else.” He murmured, and the horse headed off in another direction, taking its rider with it.  
  
“Phew.” He got up and went to a door, reaching into his pocket to pull out a lockpick as soon as he tried the knob and found it locked. It opened with ease after that and he stepped in, closing the door behind him.  
  
“Okay.” He finally pulled his hood down and adjusted his blond ponytail before he walked to the safe. “Okay, I hear you. Come to papa.” He pulled out another device from his bag and put it against the door, listening closely as he turned the dial of the safe. Then it opened and he let out a low whistle when it opened. “Okay.” He moved an interesting-looking weapon to the side and picked up a black cube. “Now, how to open you up…” He looked it over.  
  
He barely heard the door creak behind him and he held out a hand to it, but was engulfed in a pink smoke. “Ah, what the fuck?!”  
  
“I’ll take that.” The cube was removed from his hand and, when the smoke cleared, he was looking down at annoyed blue eyes.  
  
“Oh.” He said, his shoulders slumping a bit. “Shit.”  
  
“Mmhm.” The teenager that’d caught him flicked his wrists and the would-be thief gasped as he was suddenly surrounded by black, stone bars. “Who are you and how did you find out about this?” He started to circle him, carrying the cube in his hand.  
  
“Aha…I don’t just give my name up just like that.”  
  
“Hm.” Another flick of the wrist and he was now dealing with sharp, black rocks pointed at his neck. “How about now?”  
  
“H-Hugo! My name is Hugo! It was calling me!”  
  
“Calling you?” The teen walked over to look at him. “What do you mean by that?”  
  
“Ugh, you wouldn’t understand.” Hugo rolled his eyes. “It’s been—”  
  
“Singing?” The teenager walked in front of him, gripping the bars of the cage. “What tune?”  
  
“Why is that important?” Hugo muttered.  
  
“Answer the question, Hugo.” He said calmly.  
  
“Not until you tell me your name, Stripes.” Hugo retorted.  
  
He blinked. “Oh. I’m Varian.”  
  
“Varian.” Hugo paused. “’The Alchemist’ Varian?”  
  
“Yeah.” Varian nodded. “So, let’s hear that tune. Sing for me.”  
  
“Ahaaaa, I’m not gonna sing.” He shook his head. “I’ll hum it, okay? It’s awkward enough hearing it in my head. Kind of embarrassing.”  
  
“Get started.” Varian walked over to put the cube away and put his weapon back in before closing the safe.  
  
Hugo groaned. “Can you…move the rocks?”  
  
Varian rolled his eyes and retracted them back into the bars. “Now, let’s hear it.”  
  
Hugo sighed and started to la-de-da the tune that had been haunting him for as long as he could remember. To his surprise, Varian joined in halfway through, note for note. “Uh…”  
  
“You’re the third Chosen.” Varian stepped back and the bars around him shrank back into the floor before Varian used something to release his legs from whatever the pink stuff around his feet were. “Where did you come from?”  
  
“Uhm, I’m a nomad.” He tested out his feet. “So…uh, we good?”  
  
“Why did you try to steal the Sundrop?” Varian raised an eyebrow.  
  
“Because it was singing to me and I thought it’d shut it up if I got it.” Hugo rolled his eyes.  
  
“It’s not yours.” Varian looked him over. “Can you recite the lyrics?”  
  
“Do I have to?” Hugo groaned. “I may as well just _sing_ it, then.”  
  
“Do that.” Varian nodded.  
  
“Not here. I need to be outside for it, or it’ll…uh…cause a mess. Heh.” Hugo nodded.  
  
Varian looked surprised. “Do you already have the artifact?”  
  
“Huh? I don’t know, I don’t think so?” Hugo shrugged.  
  
“You don’t have the artifact, but you can use the power?” Varian looked thoughtful, walking over to look at his notes.  
  
“So…” Hugo walked over to him. “No hard feelings about the whole…”  
  
“Breaking and entering? How did you even get past the guard?” Varian turned to him.  
  
“Oh, uh, I have my ways.” Hugo said, glancing away.  
  
“Well, we can’t just let you wander around aimlessly.” Varian turned to him and grabbed his wrists, then created black rocks cuffs on them.  
  
“Ah, please don’t. Don’t cuff me. I’ll come quietly.” Hugo said, tensing up.  
  
“…Okay.” Varian removed the cuffs and he looked relieved, rubbing at his wrists. “Come on.” He took his arm and pulled him out of his lab and down the hall. “Don’t try anything funny.”  
  
“I won’t.” Hugo looked around as he was pulled along and then he was brought into a room.  
  
“Varian, what’s this?” The gray-haired young man in the room asked curiously.  
  
“His name is Hugo, he’s one of the Chosen and he broke into my lab.” Varian pushed Hugo onto a bed. “So, he’s either staying here with us, or he’s going to prison for the night. Hugo, this is Ruddiger.”  
  
“Guess I’m on guard duty. Growing kids need their sleep.” Ruddiger grinned.  
  
“You can’t make me, you’re not my dad.” Varian smirked.  
  
“Ohhh?” Ruddiger raised an eyebrow. “I can give you lots of reasons on why I would qualify.”  
  
“Not now.” Varian nodded to Hugo.  
  
“Oh, uh, don’t stop on my account.” Hugo looked around. “So…you’re really ‘The Alchemist of Old Corona’? Thought you’d be older.”  
  
Varian chuckled. “Ah, but part of what makes me so terrifying is that I achieved that when I was so young.”  
  
“True.” Hugo nodded.  
  
“Question, though…” Ruddiger looked at him. “How are we going to explain him?”  
  
“Well, I was out on one of my nightly wanderings and found him.” Varian shrugged.  
  
“’Nightly wanderings’.” Ruddiger snickered.  
  
“I’m the Moonstone, it’s what I do.” Varian shrugged.  
  
“Sure, okay.” Ruddiger picked up some colorful balls. “Both of you better get in bed before I use these on you.”  
  
“Going.” Varian took off his gloves, goggles, apron and boots and climbed into bed.  
  
“Uh…wait, are we sharing—” Hugo barely got that much out before he was engulfed in green smoke and then he was out.  
  
\--  
  
“Okay…” Eugene let out a heavy sigh. “Let’s try this again. How did you _really_ meet this guy?”  
  
“You don’t _believe_ me?” Varian asked, looking offended.  
  
“Uhm, no, because I _know_ that Ruddiger makes you sure don’t go out after dark. So, where did you really get him?” He gestured to the teenager fast asleep on the bed.  
  
Varian sighed heavily. “He was in my lab. I caught him trying to steal from me, he was after the Sundrop. Eugene, he’s one of the Chosen. It was calling to him.”  
  
“Calling?” Eugene’s brow furrowed.  
  
“Yeah. For the last…little while, the Sundrop has been calling out and I guess he heard it and came to check it out.” Varian looked at her. “Rapunzel didn’t tell you?”  
  
“No.” Eugene shook his head. “She didn’t.” He sighed, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “Guess that’s what she’s been stressing over. What’s going on, Varian?”  
  
Varian glanced away. “Destiny, I guess. The four Chosen have to go to the Shrine of the Cosmos, only then will the Galaxy Crystal appear. Well, after we get the Earth Stone. On that note, supposedly this guy can use powers without having touched it. What’s up with that?”  
  
“Ah. Another dangerous road trip.” Eugene nodded. “No _wonder_ she hasn’t told me.”  
  
“She probably doesn’t want to go.” Varian sighed. “But, as you can see, Destiny has a…pretty hard pull.”  
  
“Did you feel this pull before?” Eugene asked him.  
  
“No, it wasn’t pulling until recently.” Varian frowned.  
  
“Am I dreaming, or is that Flynn fucking Rider in some fancy red and gold outfit?”  
  
They looked over at the blond adjusting his glasses and squinting at them.  
  
“Wait.” Eugene’s eyes widened. “Wait, you’re HUGO!” He jumped to his feet. “I KNOW you!”  
  
“You do?” Varian and Ruddiger asked.  
  
“We did a job together before. He made off with half the good AND my coin purse!” Eugene said accusingly.  
  
“Hey, I got scolded for not getting the half you still had.” Hugo shrugged.  
  
“Varian? Are you awake ye—Oh, Eugene! And who’s this?” Rapunzel poked her head into the room, Pascal right beside her.  
  
“This is—” Eugene started, but Varian cut in.  
  
“Rapunzel, this is Hugo. He’s supposedly one of the Chosen, but he said he couldn’t show me proof until we were outside. Want to go to the woods with us?” He suggested.  
  
“Okay!” Rapunzel smiled brightly. “It’s nice to meet you, Hugo! I’m Rapunzel!”  
  
“Uh, yeah.” Hugo grabbed his goggles and draped them around his neck, then adjusted his gloves to make sure they were secure. “Are you aware this guy was with us all night?” He pointed to Ruddiger.  
  
“Of course he was, this is his room.” Rapunzel said cheerfully.  
  
“There is one bed here. One bed. And you have an adult sharing it with a teenager?” He raised an eyebrow.  
  
“Wouldn’t be the first one.” Varian said with a shrug. “We sleep together all the time.”  
  
Hugo looked at Ruddiger warily. Ruddiger blinked, then gasped. “Oh! No, he doesn’t mean like THAT! He’s been—no! Not like that!”  
  
“Oh, thank god.” Hugo got up from the bed.  
  
Pascal went in and grabbed his hand, pulling him one. “Come on, come on! Let’s go to the woods!”  
  
“Uh, wait—Sunshine, can I get a word with—” Eugene tried, but the others were all heading out. He sighed and headed out after them.  
  
“Hey, what’s going on?” Lance called, seeing them leaving the castle together. “Something fun planned? We haven’t even had breakfast!”  
  
“We’re just going to the woods, we’ll be back.” Rapunzel assured him.  
  
“Oh, alright. Hey, who’s the new kid?” Lance asked, following them.  
  
“I’d prefer if we _didn’t_ have an audience.” Hugo said to Varian.  
  
Varian looked at Lance and Eugene. “Can you guys wait for us? He’s got a bit of stage-fright and I need him to sing.”  
  
“Stage-fright! I used to have that! Then I sang on stage about fighting my fears and it was gone for good!” Lance said cheerfully.  
  
“Yay, good job!” Rapunzel said as Varian led Hugo across the bridge. “We’ll be back.” She followed him, Pascal and Ruddiger right along with them.  
  
“Here’s good, right?” Varian asked once they were safely in the woods, out of view of people.  
  
Hugo sighed. “…Yeah.” He stepped forward, one hand moving to his chest.  
  
“ _Fauna, hear my call.  
_ _Flora, hear my plea.  
_ _Come unto my hand,  
_ _For everyone to see._ ”  
  
He moved his hand forward, his hair starting to glow green as his eyes also glowed, as well as the tips of his fingers.  
  
“ _Let your blossoms bloom.  
_ _Life in every tree,  
_ _Run at my command,  
_ _For everyone to see.  
_ _For all to see.”_  
  
Forest animals started to gather around him, and he held out a hand, flowers beginning to bloom all around him. The glowing stopped and then he rested his hand on a deer’s head.  
  
“For as long as I can remember, I’ve had that song in my head. I used it by accident for the first time two years ago. I just…I was just singing it and started glowing. Donella told me not to use it, to keep it hidden, or people might hurt me for it. So, I didn’t use again. Not until I started to hear something else singing, a song ‘bout a flower. I thought, y’know, I seem to have control over nature. Maybe that’s why it was calling me.” He turned to them. “But, uh, I guess it was just a general call, huh? Since you heard it, too?”  
  
“Varian?” Rapunzel looked at him.  
  
Varian nodded. “Yeah. I heard it. And, Rapunzel,” he looked at her, “we’ve found the third one. It's time to make a choice.”  
  
Rapunzel looked towards the castle; her expression grim. “I do.” She said softly, closing her eyes as the wind blew through her short hair. “No more stalling.” She clenched her fists. “One more time, then, huh?” She opened her eyes, stepped towards the castle, then turned to all of them.  
  
“ _So many years, I lived life coping,  
Dreaming of things I couldn't have.  
I never knew that life had such a plan in mind.”_  
  
She looked back them, towards the direction of Old Corona.  
  
“ _Then I went out and faced adventure.  
Then I found out Fate wasn't kind.  
So, I cast it away but hear it call today.  
And the sound, it grows.”  
  
_She turned back to the castle and Varian walked to her side, Hugo, Pascal and Ruddiger with her.  
  
“ _And so, here I go._ ”  
  
She set off across the bridge, the boys following her.  
  
“ _I'll feel the wind in my hair,  
_ _And I'll ride Destiny  
_ _To an unknown horizon.  
_ _There's a new mystery to solve,  
_ _And excitement to share!_ ”  
  
She stepped into the castle and led the way to Varian’s lab.  
  
“ _Whatever life has planned for me,  
It's all just waiting to be seen out there  
So I'll face every dare  
With the wind in my hair!_”  
  
They got to the lab and Varian went to unlock the safe and get out the cube, opening the top before offering it to her.  
  
She hesitated, looking down at it as it silently pulsated, beckoning her.  
  
“ _So many roads that I have traveled,  
So many dear friends that I have met,  
I thought that my grand adventure had met its end.”  
  
_She turned away from it, bringing her hands to her chest.  
  
“ _Still, there are mysteries to unravel.  
Tons of mistakes I might regret.  
So much to see and do and to be  
All the time I'll spend._”  
  
She moved her hand over the box.  
  
“ _To Fate, I'll attend._ ”  
  
She reached in and grabbed it, feeling the familiar feeling of power as she brought it to her chest. She pushed against it and gasped as it was absorbed, her hair starting to glow golden-yellow before it started to grow. Varian held the cube silently, watching as her body glowed as she absorbed the power once more and then it was done, with her body no longer glowing, but her hair back to its original length and spread out all around the lab. She stepped back and went to the door leading outside, throwing it open and running outside, the others following her out.  
  
“ _And I got the wind in my hair and a song in my heart,  
And the fun's only starting.  
I've got a quest to begin and friends with it to share!_”  
  
She threw her hair up and Varian created a black rock for her to latch onto and swing herself up and onto a roof.  
  
The wind begin to blow again, but it was different this time. It was warm, inviting, and seemed to shimmer – they could _see_ the wind, a pale blue color. The Galaxy Stone was calling to them.  
  
“ _That colorful breeze blowing through,  
It's going to lead us to who knows where  
But, I'll take its dare  
With the wind in my hair!_”  
  
She jumped down from the roof, using the same black rock to swing herself down to the ground before she ran for the woods, the others running to keep up.  
  
“ _I got a fire within and it burns like a flare!  
And everything Fate's planned for me,  
Well, I know it's waiting for me out there  
And I'll face it, I swear  
With the wind in my hair!_”  
  
She stopped and threw her hands to the sky as the blue wind surrounded her briefly before it surrounded Hugo and Varian and then flew up to the sky, casting a blue streak that was visible from where they stood.  
  
“I guess that’s it, then.” Ruddiger commented.  
  
“…What are we going to tell your parents?” Pascal asked, already picking things out of her hair and starting to braid it.  
  
“…Oh.” She slapped her hand to her face.  
  
“This should be fun.” Varian cringed. “Especially since you still have to properly explain to Eugene.”  
  
“…Oh.” Rapunzel slumped.  
  
Hugo whistled awkwardly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to tie up your hair and face the family.


	5. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While waiting on King Fredric's decision, a new development forces a choice to be made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (c) Disney

In retrospect, as dramatic as it was, taking her powers back _before_ explaining anything to her parents and husband was a bad idea. Their expressions when she came in with freshly-braided long, blond hair, followed by Varian, Hugo, Ruddiger and Pascal, were pretty reminiscent of when she’d revealed her hair during her first encounter with Lady Caine.  
  
Queen Arianna was the first to recover from the shock. “…Rapunzel…what is this?” She gestured to her hair.  
  
Rapunzel shifted a bit, looking sheepish. “I…I took back the Sundrop.”  
  
“Yeah, uh, we _got_ that, but WHY?!” Eugene asked. “I thought you just went out to hear Hugo sing or something, how did it lead to your taking back the Sundrop after you gave it up a year ago?!”  
  
“Because it’s not done with me yet.” Rapunzel said grimly. “There’s something else I—” She looked at Varian and Hugo. “ _—_ we have to do.”  
  
“We have to find the Earth Stone and the Chosen of the Galaxy Stone and go to the Shrine of the Cosmos.” Varian explained. “I don’t know where that is, but the Galaxy Stone is calling to us, sending a blue wind to guide us.”  
  
“An unknown destination, just like following the black rocks.” King Fredric said grimly.  
  
“The Sundrop has been calling me for quite some time. I ignored its call, but I couldn’t anymore.” Rapunzel said, bringing a hand to her chest.  
  
“This won’t be over until we reunite the Artifacts of the Cosmos at the Shrine.” Varian said grimly.  
  
“And what will happen to you there?” King Fredric asked.  
  
Varian went silent. He didn’t know. He’d asked Ruddiger the same question before, but they didn’t know. “…I don’t know, Your Majesty.” He replied steadily. “But, I _do_ know that, if we _don’t_ go, something _else_ will force our hand. Destiny has already forced us to find the Galaxy Stone by changing Hamuel, Pascal and Maximus. If we refuse any longer, if we _stall_ any longer, it could be as bad as what happened with the Moonstone.”  
  
He didn’t need to elaborate. Everyone but Hugo knew what happened the last time and _he_ only needed to know it was bad.  
  
King Fredric gripped the arm of his throne. “I thought that your alchemy caused that?”  
  
“ _I_ thought so, too. But, I went to a Saporian wizard and he said that, while the occasional mishap is normal, this was something that, conveniently, only the Galaxy Stone could fix. Now, I could just be reading into it, but it _sounded_ like the unspoken message there was that the Cosmos, that Destiny caused it, using my alchemy as an outlet.” Varian explained. “I’m _not_ just making up excuses or shifting the blame… _this_ time.” He glanced away, moving a hand to his arm.  
  
Hugo decided that there must be a _lot_ of baggage there to be unpacked.  
  
King Fredric sighed. “I have to think on this. If you _do_ go, I want there to be precautions. Guards. Perhaps a safer mode of transportation, we have more options now.”  
  
“How about an airship?” Rapunzel suggested. “I’m sure Andrew will be happy to assist us!”  
  
“We will discuss the matter and then let you know.” King Fredric said, standing up from his throne and leaving the room.  
  
Eugene walked over and took Rapunzel’s hands. “…Sunshine…” He gently cupped her cheek, “How are you feeling?”  
  
She sighed, moving closer to rest her head on his shoulder. “Surprisingly…I feel better.”  
  
\--  
  
While the King and Queen discussed the idea of their daughter, once again, disappearing for an unknown amount of time to an unknown location on a dangerous trip, Rapunzel and Pascal took full advantage of her newly-long hair to wreak havoc on the castle together. Maximus sighed as he stepped over a trail of her hair that stretched across the walkway as she and Pascal painted the outside of the castle together, sitting on a swing of her hair looped around a black rock helpfully supplied by Varian before he, Ruddiger and Hugo disappeared into their lab.  
  
Hugo, apparently, was an alchemist, a thief, AND one of the Chosen, so that made him kind of something to be wary of to the Royal Guards. Unlike Varian, who they knew, this Hugo character was completely new and they were just expected to accept that he was going be to living here for the time being.  
  
He hoped he could trust Ruddiger to make sure he didn’t get into too much trouble, but the boy was a thief just as Ruddiger used to be and…well, Eugene managed to convert Lance, Kiera and Catalina to the right side of the law. And Ruddiger, aside from stealing his apples and mess with him, had pretty much given up his life of crime – demonic or otherwise. It should be okay to leave Hugo to his care.  
  
He had more pressing matters, such as making sure the Princess and Pascal didn’t get themselves killed playing games swinging around with her hair and running wild like, well, like animals. This wasn’t so bad when he was on her shoulder, going along for the ride, but when he had two rambunctious, overgrown children to wrangle?  
  
“Aaaand they’re gone again.” Eugene sighed heavily.  
  
Hamuel shrugged from behind him.  
  
“They can’t have gone far. My guess is that they just went to her room.” Maximus said, heading in.  
  
“Yeah, probably. Hey, uh, you know what? They’ll be fine, they’re in the castle. Let’s go on patrol.” Eugene suggested, stopping him.  
  
Maximus nodded and turned around to follow him and Hamuel out to town.  
  
Though not part of the Royal Guard, Hamuel had insisted on going along on his patrols and…well, anywhere, really. Which Maximus was used to, but Eugene wasn’t. It was one thing to have a crow sit on your shoulder, it was another to have a tall man in a feathered cloak and walked by your side like a giant shadow.  
  
They stepped out into town and Eugene was surprised to see Andrew landing in the town square on his Pegasus, “Stardust”. “Andrew! Is everything alright?” He asked, noting the distressed expression on his face.  
  
“No, it’s not. I just got word from my merchant in the Air Kingdom.” He got down off the Pegasus. “Where is Varian?”  
  
“What’s happened?” Eugene asked.  
  
“Somewhere more private.” Andrew nodded firmly.  
  
“Uh, Max, can you take Stardust to the stables and get her a stall there?” Eugene turned to go back in. “This way, Your Highness.” He headed in with Andrew, Hamuel following close behind, and Maximus went to Stardust.   
  
“Right this way, my lady.” He said politely.  
  
“Maximus? You seem different.” She said as he led her to the stables.  
  
“If you mean that I’ve been turned into human, this is apparently Destiny pulling a cruel prank on me to spur the Princess into doing as it wanted. Hamuel and Pascal were also changed.” He stopped at the stables and went to open a stall for her.  
  
“It’s a bit cramped. I’d prefer to be out here; you don’t account for wings.” She said calmly.   
  
“Whoa, hey, who’s that?” One of the horses asked.  
  
“That is a _gorgeous_ mare. Hey, sweetheart!” Another called.  
  
“Have some decorum.” Maximus grabbed a basket of apples and brought them out to her. “I apologize for their…rudeness.”  
  
“I’m used to it.” She rolled her eyes. “Where is Fidella today?”  
  
“She’s out with Cassandra and Owl on a mission for Varian.” He set the basket down and she sat down to start eating. “Thanks for the apples. It’s nice that you can still understand me.”  
  
Maximus sighed. “I’m not really sure _why_ _I can_ , to be honest.  
  
\--  
  
“Andrew!” Rapunzel slid down her hair and Pascal came down after her before they pulled her hair free and then Pascal started to braid her hair as she continued talking. “What brings you to the castle?”  
  
“I bring bad news, unfortunately.” Andrew said, looking at her hair curiously. “Uhm…Princess…?”  
  
“Oh.” Rapunzel looked at her hair. “I, uh, took the Sundrop back and, as a result, my hair grew long and magical again. But, you said you had bad news?”  
  
Andrew nodded grimly. “My merchant in the Air Kingdom contacted me this morning. Apparently, around a year ago, Princess Nuru started singing that tune that Varian sings sometimes.”  
  
“Really?” She asked, her eyes widening.  
  
“She was kidnapped last night by an unknown assailant.” Andrew went on, and Rapunzel paled. “She was singing it in a field and then a strange mist appeared before her guard saw a shadow in the mist and then she screamed and disappeared in a burst of green flame.”  
  
“Green flame.” Eugene’s eyes widened. “I need to talk to Ruddi—uh, Regulus.” He turned and left the room.  
  
“The Kingdom has found nothing, and my merchant brought it up while giving me a general update on how things are going for them. I instantly asked about the tune and he told me it, and then I came to you.” Andrew pursed his lips. “Do you think it’s related to the Artifacts of the Cosmos?”  
  
Rapunzel clutched at her hair. “Yes…I do think that.”  
  
Princess Nuru was only a child, two years Varian’s younger. She would be fifteen years old now, the age that Varian was when he was taken by Cassandra. He’d been so frightened, but so strong…and everything that followed that fateful day…  
  
She clutched at her chest. “We have to find her.” She said grimly. “If Princess Nuru was taken as one of the Chosen then, wherever she is, it’s where the blue wind wants us to follow.”  
  
Andrew nodded, though he looked a bit confused. “If you’re following the wind, you will probably want to travel by air. I can provide an airship, and perhaps…my company?” He offered.  
  
“I need to talk to my father. This new development will surely tell him that I cannot stay here, that I _have_ to go.” She said firmly. “Thank you, Andrew, for coming to us with this.” She gently took his hand. “You have _no_ idea how much your help means to me.”  
  
He smiled. “I’m just trying to be a good ally. Our people have been enemies for so long, I am relieved that we met as friends.”  
  
Rapunzel felt a pang of guilt in her heart. Andrew didn’t remember how they’d truly met, and he never would. That fateful night, when she fell into the water and he helped her out. He was so kind then, just like now, but that was all a sinister act with dark intentions. She moved her hand from his and ran her finger on her wedding ring, reminding herself that, just like then, her infatuation with the man was wrong.  
  
If he noticed a change in her mood, he didn’t comment. He looked to the side, concern furrowing his brow. Concern for little Princess Nuru, who had been there for that first party but had seemed more interested in watching the night sky from a balcony.  
  
It was such a contrast from his behavior concerning Varian that she’d witnessed. Then again, she only saw the tail end of it. She missed that year – a whole year – they were cellmates.  
  
“I need to talk to my father.” She repeated to herself, then turned and walked off. “Thank you, again, Andrew.”  
  
\--  
  
Eugene inhaled deeply before exhaling and walking up to knock on the door of the lab before he opened it. “Regulus.” He greeted, catching Ruddiger’s attention.  
  
“Captain.” Ruddiger nodded, turning to him. Hugo and Varian looked over as well.  
  
Eugene walked in and closed the door behind him. “Regulus, how many Disciples did Zhan Tiri have?”  
  
He glanced away, his expression unreadable. Varian frowned and took his hand, gently stroking the back of it with his thumb soothingly. “Why?” Varian asked.  
  
“Well, good news, we found the fourth Chosen. Bad news, she’s been kidnapped by what is mostly likely a Disciple of Zhan Tiri. She was taken away in green fire last night.” Eugene walked closer to Ruddiger. “So, I ask again. How many Disciples did Zhan Tiri have?”  
  
“With Gothel, Sugracha, Matthews and myself included?” He looked thoughtful. “Enough to fill the entire dining room table of this castle and still have some people standing at the walls.”  
  
“…Regulus, that’s a _lot_.” Eugene said sharply. “Why didn’t you tell us this sooner?!”  
  
“I didn’t think we would have any problems with them, that only those two had been unsealed!” Ruddiger said defensively. “They certainly didn’t make any attempts to free her, or to help in that fight!”  
  
“Well, apparently, we do.” Eugene pursed his eyes. “And Princess Nuru has been taken, she was stolen away from her home last night after she was singing that Hymn for a year.”  
  
“A year…” Varian paled. “You mean…when I took the Moonstone into myself, it started all this?”  
  
“Hey, I’ve been hearing the Hymn for way longer, so don’t blame yourself. It just comes to different people. Hell, _you_ didn’t hear it at all.” Hugo shrugged. “And, uh, I’m sorry. Did you just say that your assistant here was a Disciple of Zhan Tiri?”  
  
“… _Was_. I turned against her and she turned me into the form of an immortal raccoon for centuries. Then she restored me a year ago, but I turned on her again and this time got away, well, human.” Ruddiger explained.  
  
“And your name isn’t ‘Ruddiger’?” Hugo raised an eyebrow.  
  
“It is, but it isn’t. I’m actually Regulus, and on my plaque it says ‘Regulus Ruddiger’.” He shrugged. “Ruddiger is actually Varian’s last name, and I was his pet that he named after it. It stuck, and he most often calls me by that name.”  
  
“Sorry for the confusion.” Varian said, then turned to Eugene. “So, Princess Nuru is the fourth Chosen, but she’s been taken. Do we have any clue where?”  
  
“No, but I bet we’ll find her if we follow that wind.” Eugene said grimly.  
  
Varian nodded. “Then, we don’t have a choice. We have to hurry and find her and the Earth Stone and go to the Shrine of the Cosmos.”  
  
“So, I don’t know too much about rich people tables. How many people is that, exactly?” Hugo asked.  
  
“Let’s see…” Ruddiger looked thoughtful. “Twelve people fit around the table, plus four to each side wall, two at the back and front… So, that’s twenty-four, but remove four…we’ve got twenty Disciples still on the loose, if they were all unsealed. No, wait. Remove another, because Zhan Tiri took one of the chairs. Nineteen.”  
  
“Regulus,” Eugene looked at him seriously. “As a Disciple, couldn’t you help us find them?”  
  
“ _Former_ Disciple and, uh, I _could_ , heh…” He glanced away. “But, I’d be revealing I’m back and we’d be attacked every step on the journey as a result. They don’t take betrayal well, and if they find out that I betrayed her _again_ and sealed her, Sugracha and Tromus away? Let’s just say, it’d be easier to just not let them know.”  
  
“What if they already know?” Varian asked grimly. “We _have_ been making ourselves known, and if they recognize you…”  
  
“Well, then we’re in trouble.” Ruddiger cringed.  
  
“Let’s take the fact that they haven’t attacked yet to be a sign that they don’t know yet.” Eugene said encouragingly.  
  
“Yeah.” Ruddiger nodded. “Yeah, let’s do that.”  
  
\--  
  
Rapunzel stood before her father’s room, clutching at her chest. She knew that they had to go, that she had to convince her father…but, she was so afraid.  
  
Pascal took her hand comfortingly and gave it a gentle pat. “You got this.” She assured her.  
  
She nodded and reached up to knock on the door.  
  
“Enter.” Her father called.  
  
She swallowed nervously and opened the door, stepping inside with Pascal right behind her.  
  
“Father.” She said, walking over to where he was sitting on a couch, reading a book. She realized with a start that it was her journal from that fateful year. “I…thought that was locked away, because of all the secrets inside.”  
  
“I took it out.” He said calmly. “I was reviewing your…previous adventure.” He set it down on his lap. “Come, both of you.” He patted the couch next to him.  
  
They walked over and sat down, Rapunzel between her father and Pascal.  
  
“Rapunzel—”  
  
“Dad, I hate to interrupt, but there’s been a development.” Rapunzel said, placing her hand on his. “Princess Nuru of the Air Kingdom was taken. According to a Saporian merchant who heard the news and told Andrew, she had been singing that…that same tune that I was raised on. The Hymn.”  
  
His brow furrowed. “That’s unfortunate. I hope their family finds her.”  
  
“There’s more. She was taken away in green fire. I think…I think it was a Disciple of Zhan Tiri.” She looked at him anxiously. “And she wasn’t taken for ransom.”  
  
He looked at her, his expression growing dark with memories of when one of those people had taken his _own_ little girl. “Rapunzel…”  
  
“If they took her, it’s only a matter of time before they come after the rest of us.” She said grimly. “And I…I don’t anyone to be hurt if that happens. If I have to fight them, I want it to be away from my home, away from everyone I love. If I’m going to fight them, I want it to be when I rescue Princess Nuru.”  
  
He looked to the side, and Rapunzel realized her mother was also in the room, quietly listening.  
  
Queen Arianna stood up from her chair and walked over to them. “Rapunzel…” She took her hand in hers. “As much as we would prefer for you to stay where you are safe…” She smiled sadly. “Give us some time to prepare a going-away party? And, I think, you will need a new journal.”  
  
“We only ask that you be safe, and keep in contact.” King Fredric smiled.  
  
Rapunzel threw her arms around them both and Pascal got up to join the hug. “Thank you, both of you, for trusting me to do this.”  
  
\--  
  
“Don’t worry, little one.”   
  
A teenage girl whimpered in her binds as she looked up at her captor with shaking, golden-yellow eyes.  
  
“I do not intend to hurt you. After all, that would be counterproductive.”  
  
Her captor was a distinguished-looking gentleman, who was currently pouring a cup of tea. “So, you may rest at ease, Princess Nuru.” He walked over and pulled down her gag. “Come, why don’t you drink this?”  
  
She shook her head, refusing to open her mouth. Someone else knelt behind her and roughly tugged at her hair, making her cry out in pain. The tea was brought to her lips and poured down her throat and she had to swallow to keep from drowning, her hair tightly held to keep her head pointed up.  
  
“Good girl.” The man before her patted her cheek. “Take her to bed, now. We have a long journey ahead of us.”  
  
A pigeon flew in through a window and changed into the form of a human woman. “Ah, Seline.” The man greeted. “What news do you bring?”  
  
“The other three have met. The Galaxy Crystal has sent its wind. And Regulus is with them.” She hissed.  
  
“Excellent.” He chuckled and turned to walk over to a pile of books. “Gothel and Regulus have given us so much, it’s only right that we thank them.” He chuckled darkly. “Do we have everything we need?”  
  
“Yes, we have collected the dust and gathered the materials.” One of the others in the room said.  
  
“Good. Then, let us prepare the spell. Give me the vial of the girl’s blood.” He held out his hand and a vial full of a red liquid was handed over. “Ah, yes. Blood of the daughter will bring back the mother.” He chuckled darkly. “Let’s get to work.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Destiny has a heavy hand, but the Disciples of Zhan Tiri aren't much nicer.


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With their departure planned, everyone takes some time to bond. Andrew reveals that there may be more to Cassandra being attacked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (c) Disney

While the King and Queen prepared a going-away party, Rapunzel, Eugene, Varian met with Andrew to discuss their course.  
  
“According to that odd, constant blue streak in the sky, from here we would be going northeast.” Andrew said, pointing to a map. “Assuming it’s going straight, then we should be able to plot our course easily. If not, then we’ll have to just follow the trail. Naturally, we’ll have to land for supplies and to check around for any information on the whereabouts of Princess Nuru. Kline has requested to come along, he wants to train Rapunzel and Varian in their powers, and he can help us locate the Earth Stone and help Hugo with his powers once we do. General Jenna has also requested permission to join the trip.”  
  
“Of course!” Varian said eagerly. “Oh, we also have to stop by Vardaros and collect Cassandra, Fidella and Owl. We can look for information while there, Cassandra was going to get something for me from Staylan when she was attacked.”  
  
“Any idea who attacked her?” Andrew asked.  
  
“No. They were after the book, but they didn’t get it. She was the only one seriously hurt.” Varian shook his head.  
  
“…Are you _sure_ they were after the book?” Andrew said cautiously.  
  
“What do you mean?” Rapunzel asked.  
  
“I don’t know much about the situation, but her mother was a Disciple of Zhan Tiri’s, right? A loyal one?” Andrew clarified.   
  
He’d finally been informed before this meeting about Ruddiger’s former Disciple status, that he betrayed her and that was what led to her being sealed away again after her escape from the netherworld.  
  
“Yes.” Varian nodded. “So?”  
  
“So…” Andrew sat down in a chair he was standing next to. “There is an ancient, forbidden Saporian magic that can…bring back the dead. It requires the blood of kin, the body, and a few other…terrible ingredients.” He explained. “It is possible that they were just after her blood.”  
  
“Oh.” Rapunzel looked pale.  
  
“There’s no body, though. She was reduced to dust.” Eugene assured him.  
  
“Even dust is enough.” Andrew sighed. “Of course, I could just be…a little tense about this whole ‘ancient evil’ thing, and maybe she just got hurt because she was protecting the book and they gave up after deciding it was too much trouble.”  
  
“How do you know about this magic?” Eugene asked curiously.  
  
“I didn’t really have much to do growing up besides invent stuff, train to fight and read.” Andrew shrugged. “I mean, aside from my usual classes.”  
  
“That’s right, you’re a bib…bibli…” Rapunzel struggled with the word.  
  
“You like to read books.” Eugene supplied.  
  
“A bibliophile, yes.” Andrew nodded. “Wait, but how did you know that?” He chuckled a bit. “Did Juniper tell you, or Jenna? I swear, they’re always talking about me behind my back.”  
  
Varian looked at Rapunzel and Eugene, who looked like they’d just been stung, and gave them a subtle raised eyebrow before lowering it and looking back at Andrew. “Let’s hope that she just protected it and they gave up. I’m not too keen on meeting Gothel in-person, her books are enough for me.”  
  
Andrew nodded. “Neither am I; she sounds frightening.”  
  
Rapunzel nodded, clutching at her hair. “So, uhm…we’re bringing Jenna and Kline…who else should we bring?”  
  
“If we leave Lance and the girls out, you _know_ they’re gonna sneak onboard.” Eugene said, looking amused at the thought.  
  
“Shorty’s not coming.” Rapunzel stated firmly. “Not this time. That was…stressful.”  
  
“Varian might kill him, anyway.” Eugene muttered under his breath.  
  
“We’ll be checking for stowaways before we set out.” Andrew assured them. “I suspect we will be bringing Regulus, Maximus, Hamuel and Pascal?”  
  
“Oh, of course!” Rapunzel nodded.  
  
Varian glanced at Eugene. “If Lance comes along, he _better_ follow the rules. I’m not going to put up with any of his usual _shenanigans_.”  
  
“Well…I’ll talk to him about it.” Eugene said awkwardly.  
  
“I’ll let Stalyan know that we’ll be going to Vardaros soon.” Varian got up and left the room, pulling his communication mirror from his belt as he walked.  
  
“I guess that’s that.” Eugene sighed. “Time to go track down our traveling companions and tell them the news.”  
  
“If you’re going with us, who’s leading Saporia?” Rapunzel asked.  
  
“Juniper will. She’s as much my father’s child as I am, we’re just from different mothers.” Andrew assured her. “And…she’s always been more of a leader, honestly. I’m too brash, believe it or not. And I can’t stand being stuck at home all the time.”  
  
“Ah, is _that_ why you keep finding excuses to visit.” She teased. “But…I understand that. There’s a whole world out there. I’ve only seen part of it, and there’s so much to see still.”  
  
“I was always focused on restoring Saporia, or at least getting revenge.” Andrew glanced away, then looked back at her and smiled. “It was a lucky day for us when Jenna met Varian. It opened a lot of doors that were closed.”  
  
Rapunzel smiled and nodded. “And now, you can finally rest easy and, maybe, see the world through more than books.” She stood up. “I felt the same way about leaving my tower. You were so trapped in the idea of revenge that you didn’t see the rest of the world. And me, I was trapped in a tower.” She faltered. “…Do you think that she might really be brought back?”  
  
“Couldn’t say. I’m only guessing based on the facts.” Andrew stood up as well and Eugene followed suit. “I’ll contact Juniper, Kline and Jenna and tell them the plan. When do we set out?”  
  
“The going-away party is in a week. How about the morning after?” Rapunzel suggested.  
  
“I’ll have everything ready.” He promised, then walked out of the room.  
  
Rapunzel sighed and looked at Eugene. “…Eugene…I’m a bit scared.” She admitted.  
  
“I’ll be there with you, Sunshine.” He gently took her hand in his and kissed her. “’Til death do we part. And, hey, you could bring me back to life with your magic hair.” He joked.  
  
She sighed, shaking her head with a smile. “I don’t want to have to do that.”  
  
“I’ll be careful. I promise.” He assured her.  
  
She smiled and then they left the room together.  
  
\--  
  
“What if he doesn’t recognize me?” Pascal asked anxiously.  
  
“Of _course_ he will.” Ruddiger assured him. “He recognized _me_ , and _I’m_ not his _Momma_.”  
  
They climbed up the tower steps, the door left open for them to come and go as they pleased. Today was the first day Pascal had gone to visit Flynn since his change, he’d been too nervous to go until Ruddiger physically lifted him over his shoulder and took him to the tower.  
  
“You’re going to be fine.” Ruddiger assured him when they reached the old throne room, which had since been converted into a sectioned home with a fireplace and a dragon stable for Flynn and his birth mother. They stepped inside and saw Jenna kneeling next to Flynn and his mother, feeding them. “Jenna!” He called.  
  
She turned to them, smiling as she brushed her hair behind her ear. “Ruddiger! No Varian today?”  
  
“Varian’s busy.” Ruddiger looked at Pascal as he set him down. “I brought someone else.”  
  
Pascal stepped forward, feeling nervous. Flynn sniffed at the air and raised his head, looking confused. “Momma?”  
  
“H-Hey.” Pascal gave an awkward wave.  
  
“Oh.” Jenna chuckled and got up, walking over to him. “Oh, Pascal. It’s alright, you can come over to Flynn.”  
  
“How do you know it’s me?” He asked.  
  
“For one thing,” she chuckled. “your clothes look like your scales, you have green hair, your eye color is the same, and Varian told me about his little mishap.” She winked.  
  
“Ah.” Pascal smiled and walked over to Flynn, who happily nuzzled him. “Hey, baby! Have you been okay?” He looked at Flynn’s birth mother.  
  
“He has been just fine.” She assured him.  
  
“Momma, I missed you!” Flynn nuzzled him happily.  
  
“I missed you too, baby.” Pascal stroked his head happily.  
  
“He’ll have plenty of time to get used to this new form.” Jenna assured them. “We’re going with you on your trip.”  
  
“Trip?” Pascal looked at her. “Oh, right. To follow the blue wind.”  
  
Jenna nodded. “Do you think you’re up to the trip?”  
  
“I managed it before, as a chameleon.” Pascal grinned. “I bet I can be a lot more help as a human!”   
  
“Yeah!” Flynn cheered.  
  
Ruddiger smiled fondly. Jenna looked at him and then walked over to stand in front of him. He looked up at the tall woman, startled. “Yes?”  
  
“Ruddiger…” She sighed softly. “Regulus, Andrew told me about the Disciple of Zhan Tiri being involved. Are you…are you sure you’re going to be okay going against them?”  
  
He laughed a bit. “I turned against Zhan Tiri herself, General.” He assured her. “Facing the other Disciples won’t be a problem at all. Not for me.”  
  
“If you’re sure.” She nodded, then smiled gently before pulling him into a hug. “I just…if anything happened to you, I know that Varian would be inconsolable. You’re as important to him as his father, you know? Maybe even more-so because you’ve always stood by him.”  
  
Ruddiger smiled softly and looked towards Corona Castle in the distance. “Yeah…and I always will. Between Varian and anything, I’ll pick him. Even if…” He sighed. “Even if it’s between him and his insanity.”   
  
“Meaning?” She asked.  
  
He sighed. “Did you ever hear how Varian and Andrew… _really_ first met?”  
  
“I don’t think so.” Jenna shook her head. “Just that they worked together and he betrayed him.”  
  
“Well…” Ruddiger sighed. “They met in prison. You heard about Varian’s, uh…record?”  
  
She nodded. “And his redemption. He’s a brilliant boy, but such a painful story.”  
  
“Yeah…” Ruddiger sighed. “If it wasn’t for me, he would have won that day. But, he was going to kill Rapunzel and encase the Queen in amber. If I hadn’t let Pascal out of the cage he’d been put in, and he hadn’t freed King Frederic from the goo and the Queen hadn’t gotten a sword to free herself before the amber got her…he would’ve won, but at the cost of his soul. I had to save him, I felt, so I made the hard choice. I ruined his chances. I forced him to lose.”  
  
He wrapped his arms around himself. “I wish…someone had done the same for me, when I was… _loyal_. Before I came to my senses. I wish I’d been spotted before I ever came up with the idea to start the war….as a result, your people suffered greatly. But, because of my actions, Varian suffered. I saved him, but he suffered so much as a result.”  
  
“Ruddiger, you can’t blame yourself for his suffering.” She gently stroked his hair soothingly. “You weren’t the one to blame, you were just trying to save him from himself. If he really crossed that line, there would never be any redemption for him. You _saved_ him. You saved him from becoming something as terrible as…as…”  
  
“As who _I_ used to be?” He asked bitterly. “I was so messed up, and I had the worst group of friends. And now those friends have kidnapped a poor little girl and my boy and his friends are going to go rescue her and I just…ugh!” He grabbed his hair and clenched his fists in it. “What if I’m not enough?! What if they hurt them?!”  
  
“You’re not alone, silly.” Pascal walked over and hugged him from behind. “You’ve got me, Maximus, and Hamuel with you to protect our humans! Friends. Uhm…kids?”  
  
Jenna laughed. “Pascal’s right, you’re not alone, Ruddiger. And Varian and Rapunzel aren’t exactly helpless, though I know _nothing_ about this Hugo kid.”  
  
“Neither do I, honestly.” Ruddiger admitted. “Just that he’s one of the Chosen and has nature magic and can control animals. Which is kind of good that I’m not an animal anymore, thinking about it.”  
  
“Hey, speaking of that, what if Owl and Fidella turned human with us? You know, just until the Galaxy Crystal is found?” Pascal suggested. “I bet Maximus would like it. And I really want to see what Owl looks like as a human.”  
  
“Pft, we’ll discuss it when we pick up Cassandra.” Ruddiger looked over his shoulder at him. “Are you still hugging me?”  
  
“Obviously.” Pascal grinned.  
  
“Why?” Ruddiger raised an eyebrow.  
  
“Why not?” Pascal let go and walked back over to play with Flynn again.  
  
Jenna chuckled. “We’ll be fine. I’ll tell you what, though, that airship is going to be crowded.”  
  
“Wait, how many are coming?” Ruddiger asked.  
  
“I don’t think we actually know for sure yet.” Jenna admitted.  
  
Ruddiger turned to Pascal. “Cal, you gonna be alright if I leave you here?”  
  
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Pascal assured him. “See you later, Ruddi.”  
  
Ruddiger waved and headed back down out of the tower.  
  
It was hard to believe, sometimes, that it had been a whole year since that horrible moment when he’d helplessly watched Varian be chased down and taken away to be drugged and caged. Since he himself was caged and he was forced to watch Varian hand over the freedom of his entire family’s minds. Repurposing this building was a great idea, but also…he kind of hated it.   
  
And now they were about to go off on a grand adventure, going who-knows-where, searching for magical artifacts and a kidnapped princess. And his old, cruel coworkers. He paused mid-step and looked at his reflection in the black rock that made up the wall of the staircase. Was he really ready to face them again? What would happen when he did? He was still missing some memories, so many people didn’t have faces and some faces didn’t have names. Even though Zhan Tiri had given him back so much of his past memories, of his life as Regulus, he didn’t remember so much more. He couldn’t remember the face of the brother he’d destroyed himself to bring back to life, a mission he failed to achieve in the end.  
  
Every time he tried, all he could picture was Varian.  
  
Varian, who he’d met by chance and decided to stay with no matter what. Every attempt to kick him out, he found a way back in. He was persistent, and Varian finally gave in after seeing that he wasn’t staying out. And he’d never left him alone since, not until…until…  
  
No, don’t think about it. _He’d_ forgotten, by Ruddiger’s own power, so there was no point in holding any grudges against the Saporian that had stolen Varian away from him. He’d gotten his revenge on the man when he made him forget everything about his time in Corona. As far as he knew, he never left his home. So, there was no reason to fixate on the past. ‘Just focus on the future, Regulus. You have too much to worry about to dwell on problems already solved.’  
  
He nodded firmly and walked on, heading out of the tower and back to Corona.  
  
\--  
  
“So, do we even know what Princess Nuru looks like?” Hugo asked as he and Varian prepared more alchemy bombs for the trip.  
  
“I know she’s a couple years younger than me, has dark skin, and golden eyes.” Varian shrugged. “She attended one party here a while back.”  
  
“Right.” Hugo nodded. “I guess we’ll just follow the blue wind, then.”  
  
“Best course of action.” Varian nodded. “I can tell this is tearing up Queen Arianna, though.”  
  
“What about the King?” Hugo asked.  
  
Varian glanced away. “Yeah, probably him, too. But…he and I don’t really get along.”  
  
“How come?” Hugo asked curiously.  
  
“Uhm…” Varian sighed. “I…well, I was a criminal before.”  
  
“You?” He looked surprised.  
  
“Yeah. I was a really bad one. Treason, kidnapping, theft, attempted murder; I was really bad. I’ve redeemed myself since, but Frederic and I…well, we have some…bad blood between us. Really bad blood. Like, curdled.”  
  
“Wow.” Hugo breathed. “Why did you do all that?”  
  
“Well…” He sighed. “It’s because of the Moonstone, really. Three years ago, the Moonstone wasn’t…well, it wasn’t with _me_. It was protected in the Dark Kingdom, just a stone. And it wanted the Sundrop, so it sent black rocks after Rapunzel touched some of its rocks and those rocks spread all over. And my dad, in his eternal wisdom, never told me about the rocks that ravaged his homeland, so when they showed up here and the King did nothing to stop them, I decided to take matters into my own hands and accidentally encased my father in amber after changing a black rock into it.”  
  
He paused for a breath, then went on. “I ran for help that I’d been promised over and over but was thrown out into a blizzard and then false rumors spread about me attacking the princess so I was completely alone and then a week later after the rest of my hometown evacuated, I was being harassed by these creepy masked men and they terrorized me for weeks and they were sent by the King, by the way. Then I found out they were the royal Guard. Then I made a truth serum and made cookies to drug the entire castle so could get in and steal the Sundrop Flower so I could free my father with its power, but that didn’t work so I devised a plan to make Rapunzel come and help me and I kidnapped the Queen as bait and then when Rapunzel’s hair didn’t work I went on a rampage and tried to kill them all and get thrown into prison, where I was left at the mercy of guards and had only Andrew to turn to—”  
  
“The Saporian Prince?” Hugo asked, finally getting a word in.  
  
“Yeah, he doesn’t remember any of that because I betrayed him after we took over Corona together after escaping prison and so he was hunting me down but last year Ruddiger used magic to make them forget about everything they did in Corona and that’s why he thinks our first meeting was at a party Rapunzel invited him to after Saporia and Corona became allies. So, Andrew doesn’t remember but Fredric and I still remember and so we still hate each other because I was only fourteen when he put me through HELL!” Varian banged his fists on the table.  
  
Hugo looked at him with side eyes. “Uhm…ooookay, then. So….bad blood.”  
  
“Bad blood.” Varian nodded.  
  
“Right.” Hugo looked back at their work. “…But, you’re all good now? Aside from hating each other?”  
  
“We’re civil.” Varian nodded.  
  
“Good to hear.” Hugo nodded.  
  
“So, what’s your story?” Varian asked curiously.  
  
“Story?” Hugo looked at him.  
  
“You mentioned a ‘Donella’ before.” Varian said thoughtfully. “I’ve heard the name before, from The Baron. She was the one that told him about the legends about the Earth Sone and the Galaxy Crystal.”  
  
Hugo sighed. “Donella is…kind of my mom, but mostly my boss. She took me in when I was an orphan in the Iron Kingdom, when I had no one to turn to. She trained me to be a top-notch thief and had me do errands for her, like that job where I briefly worked with Flynn Rider—still very confused about his new, uh, change of profession. When did he sell out?”  
  
Varian sighed heavily. “He didn’t ‘sell out’, he just gave up the lifestyle. And he chose to do that when he met Rapunzel and fell in love with her and rescued her from Gothel.” He cringed. “Who we…might be meeting soon, if Andrew is right and the Disciples took some of Cassandra’s blood to bring her mother back.”  
  
“And who is Cassandra?” Hugo asked.   
  
Varian sighed. “She _was_ Rapunzel’s Lady-in-Waiting, but she kind of lost it after finding out her mother abandoned her to kidnap Rapunzel and then she went evil, took the Moonstone and nearly destroyed Corona with it. Oh, and she kidnapped me and drugged me with a truth serum to get a special incantation to control the black rocks from the scroll I’d been translating for Rapunzel.” He paused. “I used to have the biggest crush on her. Now she’s my errand girl and I hate her.”  
  
Hugo blinked, then took off his glasses and wiped at them before putting them back on. “Okay, then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Varian has a LOT of baggage and Hugo isn't quite sure he was ready for it to be unpacked.

**Author's Note:**

> Where did the four lights all fall during the cosmic event?


End file.
